IRJ

February 2022 |  Volume 62 Issue 2

www.railjournal.com | @railjournal

,QWHUQDWLRQDO5DLOZD\-RXUQDO

Window of
opportunity

Main line ATO takes off

Chinese expansion Optimising braking
New high-speed, main line A fresh approach to sanding
and transit lines open improves rail adhesion

European rail policy: frustration in Brussels at a lack of progress

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Contents
February 2022 Volume 62 issue 2

Post 46 Killigrew Street News

Falmouth 4 This month
Cornwall, TR11 3PP, UK 5 News extra
Tel +44 1326 313945
7 News headlines
Web www.railjournal.com
14 Transit news
Editor-in-Chief
16 Financial news

18
Kevin Smith
ks@railjournal.co.uk
Consulting Editor/
Associate Publisher
David Briginshaw
db@railjournal.co.uk
Europe
Associate Editor
18 Impossible dream or achievable?
Richard Clinnick The Single European Rail Area remains out of reach
rclinnick@railjournal.co.uk 22 Rail drives Italy’s Covid-19 recovery
News Editor EU recovery funds sparking huge investment drive
David Burroughs

22
dburroughs@railjournal.co.uk
Production Manager
Sue Morant
sm@railjournal.co.uk Signalling
26 A train control revolution
Virtual coupling boosts Russian network capacity

Advertising sales office 30 Digital revolution could save regional railways

Post 88 Pine Street, 23rd Floor Demonstrating ATO in the Czech Republic
New York, NY 10005 32 Atacs: improving more than just capacity
United States
Japan pursues technological advances in train control
Tel +1 732 887 5562

Business development manager

Jerome Marullo jmarullo@sbpub.com
Tel +1 732 887 5562
26
Braking and adhesion
Print magazine subscriptions hotline 35 Variable rate sanding improves braking
Tel +1 402 346-4740
Research into low rail adhesion shows results
Fax +1 (847) 291-4816
38 Improving braking offers capacity increase
Reducing braking distances an alternative to network expansion

International Railway Journal (Print ISSN 2161-7376,

Digital ISSN 2161-7368), is published monthly by
Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corp, 88 Pine Street,
23rd floor, New York, NY 10005, USA. Printed in
Great Britain by Micropress and distributed in the
35
USA by Mail Right International, 1637 Stelton Road
B4, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA. Periodicals postage
Also in this issue Front cover
paid at Piscataway, NJ and additional mailing offices.
IRJ
February 2022 |  Volume 62 Issue 2
www.railjournal.com | @railjournal

COPYRIGHT © Simmons-Boardman Publishing

Corporation 2022. All rights reserved. Contents may
40 Rendezvous JR East is set to rollout ,QWHUQDWLRQDO5DLOZD\-RXUQDO

not be reproduced without permission. For reprint

41 Full contact list ATO over Atacs on the Window of
information please contact Editor-in-Chief. For print Yamanote-loop line in opportunity
magazine subscriptions, assistance & address changes,
please call +1 402 346-4740, Fax +1 847 291-4816,
41 Advertisers index suburban Tokyo by 2030.
Various railways and
Email: internationalrailwayjournal@omeda.com or
write to: International Railway
41 Fresh faces suppliers are exploring the
potential of ATO to boost
Journal, Simmons-Boardman
Publishing Corp, PO Box 239,
42 The last word network capacity. Main line ATO takes off
Lincolnshire, IL, 60069-0239,
Chinese expansion Optimising braking
New high-speed, main line A fresh approach to sanding
and transit lines open improves rail adhesion

USA
Photo: Shutterstock/kuremo
a
European rail policy: frustration in Brussels at a lack of progress

IRJ February 2022 3

 This month | Kevin Smith

Mainline ATO a huge opportunity

in the Czech Republic, projects
in France, Germany and the
Netherlands are underway and
if railways can get it right offering positive signs. All of
the actors at work here are
and ridership while reducing
the public service obligation
subsidy from the state. It also
improves the economics of
single wagon load freight and

C OVID restrictions mean

only a limited number of
visitors will be permitted to
attend this month’s Winter
Olympic Games in China.
However, those who do make
it are likely to travel between
venues by train. A flurry of
new metro lines and extensions
opened in Beijing at the end of
last year expanding the network
to 699.3km (p5). China’s overall
mainline network has also
grown to more than 150,000km
and the high-speed network to
40,000km, by far the world’s
largest.
High-speed trains will whisk
visitors around 170km from
technology, offering substantial
benefits for freight services.
Under a separate initiative
led by the Institute for Information
Technology, Signalling and
Telecommunications in Railway
Transport (NIIAS), trials are
underway in Moscow with a
Lastochka regional EMU
operating at Grade of
Automation (GoA 3) where a
driver is available to intervene
only in an emergency (p12).
The trains have completed
more than 7000km of trials on
the Moscow Central Circle
network and commercial
operation at GoA 3 is expected
active in the Shift2Rail joint
undertaking, and while not the
location for all of their research,
it remains the central hub for
knowledge sharing and
establishing best practice.
Europe’s Rail will officially
launch as the successor to
Shift2Rail this month and will
include work packages tasked
with rapid development of
ATO up to GoA 4.
Fitch considers adapting ETCS
infrastructure to accommodate
ATO as relatively straightforward.
However, he shares NIIAS’
deputy director general, Mr
Pavel Popov’s, view that the
could potentially prompt a
shift away from the block train
model.
Of course, the cost of these
projects must be affordable in
the first place. Small branch
line projects are not attractive
for suppliers seeking lucrative
main line deals, so these should
be packaged together or
incentivised.
Adapting rolling stock so it
is compliant is another major
expense, as is seen with the
problems with updating
existing fleets to ETCS.
Extracting the full benefit of
automation will require all
trains to be compatible. This,

Beijing North to Zhangjiakou
and Chongli, the destination
for the Olympic alpine events.
These passengers will be
travelling on what is purported
to be the world’s first
automatic high-speed line,
which opened in December
2019. They will also have access
to a 5G onboard UHD video
streaming service, another
world-first, which is fed by
around 400 5G base stations
installed along the route.
China may have taken the
lead on high-speed line
automation, but other countries
and regions are busy catching
up.
This month’s edition includes
three features on three separate
and quite different mainline
automation projects. We look at
AZD Praha’s continuing efforts
to develop driverless technology
in the Czech Republic (p30);
East Japan Railway’s (JR East)
work to equip suburban trains
in Tokyo with ATO over Atacs
(p32); and the development of
various ATO-related technologies
by Transmashholding
subsidiary LocoTech-Signal for
Russia (p26).
LocoTech has conducted
extensive tests of virtual
coupling technology on freight
trains in eastern Russia, and
has successfully limited safety
margins, reducing headways
from 4-5km to 2-3km. LocoTech
says virtual coupling can offer
an increase in capacity of 15%
and believes it could convoy
up to five trains using the
“
China may have taken the lead on
high-speed line automation, but other
countries and regions are busy
catching up.
to begin this summer.
In Japan, as well as suburban
trains, JR East is working to
introduce driverless trains at
GoA 3 on the high-speed
network, successfully performing
a demonstration on the Joetsu
Shinkansen in November. The
railway says this proposition is
potentially much simpler than
its suburban application
because these trains operate on
a point-to-point network. It is
also building on existing
systems such as ATC and
Cosmos to develop GoA 3 and
GoA 4 capability.
Europe is adopting a similar
approach, basing its mainline
ATO developments on ETCS.
Mr Keir Fitch, head of unit, rail
safety and interoperability at
the European Commission (EC),
says the upcoming revision to
the Technical Specifications for
Interoperability (TSI) to
accommodate GoA 2, expected
this autumn, will enshrine the
use of ETCS as the standard for
mainline ATO deployment,
and deliver a basis for
interoperability, a key objective
for the EC.
As well as AZD Praha’s work
however, risks ostracising
smaller private players without
the same resources as the state-
owned railways. This should
not become the next battlefield
between new entrants and the
incumbents.
The momentum building
behind mainline automation is
exciting. The challenges are
significant but the rewards -
major technical challenges substantial modal shift to rail -
relate to effective obstacle will be worth the effort.
detection and telecoms coverage.
Indeed, Popov says telecoms
issues are likely to limit freight
rollouts in Russia to GoA 3. He
also says more work is needed
to establish standards. ks@railjournal.co.uk
Both Fitch and JR East say
societal challenges are the
other major obstacle. While
driverless metros are broadly
accepted, convincing people
that driverless mainline trains
are safe will be tricky.
Industrial relations issues also
mean that it is very unlikely in
some countries that drivers
will be removed, at least in the
short-term.
Yet the economic benefits of
doing so in some areas mean
railways should prioritise this
pursuit. Taking away
the cost of the
driver will
improve the
viability of
some branch
lines,
potentially
helping to
increase the
service level

4
 News | extra

Chinese high-speed network surpasses 40,000km

China is continuing the rapid expansion of its network, building conventional, high-speed and
metro lines across the country. Richard Clinnick and Andrew Benton collate the latest openings.
year, rising to 28.8 million
long-term. The port is expected
to carry 11.5 million tonnes of
imports initially rising to 17.8
million. Construction of the
railway commenced in
October 2016.
In Gansu province, the
Jiuquan - Dongfeng section of
the Jiuquan - Ejina conventional
line opened on December 26.
The 241km line with eight
stations cost Yuan 4.4bn to
construct over 2.5 years. The
line opens a new route
between Lanzhou and
Jiayuguan, with two trains
China has opened 2168km of high-speed
lines in 2021. Photo: Shutterstock/chuyuss
currently operating per day.
The 199km, 350km/h Qufu -

C HINA’s railway network

now exceeds 150,000km
following the opening of
The line has reduced
journey times between
Nanchang and Hefei to 2h
both freight-only. Short-term
predicted export traffic on the
line is 20.7 million tonnes per
Zhuangzhai section of the
Rizhao - Lankao high-speed
line opened on December 26,
several new lines at the end of 40min, a reduction of at least
2021, with high-speed line 1h 20m compared with the China
openings taking the length of existing route via Shangrao.
300km/h 250km/h 200km/h up!Rjrjibs
the high-speed network to The line includes 36 bridges Open up!Kjbnvtj
more than 40,000km. and viaducts and five tunnels, Harbin
Being built
According to China National encompassing 149km, or 87% Planned Jilin
Changchun
Railway (CR), China invested of the route length. up!Ivodivo
Yuan 748.9bn ($US 117.43bn) The 436km, 350km/h MONGOLIA
in railway fixed assets in 2021, Ganzhou - Shenzhen high- up!Upohivb
Shenyang
putting 4208km of new lines speed line, a southern section
into operation, of which of the Beijing - Hong Kong Chengde
Hohhot
2168km were high-speed lines. PDL, opened on December 10. Baotou Zhangjiakou

CR carried 1.37 billion The 99km Changbaishan - Datong Qinhuangdao

Dandong
passengers during the year. Dunhua section of the Ordos
Beijing
The 176km Anqing - Jiujiang Shenyang - Jiamusi high-speed Yinchuan
Yulin
Dalian
Yuanping Tianjin
high-speed line opened on line in northeast China opened Xinzhou
December 30. The 350km/h for passenger traffic on Zhongwei Suide Taiyuan Xiongan Yantai Rongcheng

line has stations at Anqingxi, December 24. The 250km/h Shijiazhuang

Qianshan, Taihunan, Susongdong, line has three stations at Jinan
Qingdao
Huangmeidong, Huangmeinan, Changbaishan, Yong’an and Yan'an Weifong
Qufu Rizhao
and Lushan in Jiujiang. The Dunhua’nan and there is an Lanzhou Jiaozuo
Lianyungang
line includes the new Bianyuzhou additional 12km line from Baoji Luoyang
Zhengzhou Xuzhou
Yangtse river bridge near Dunhua’nan to Dunhua. The up!Vsvnrj
Shanggiu Yancheng
Jiujiang and is an integral part line will also facilitate tourism Xi’an Nanyang Fuyang Huai’aon
Nanjing Nantong
of the new Beijing - Hong at Changbaishan, one of Pingdingshan
Ankang Hefei Shanghai
Kong passenger dedicated line northeast China’s most famous Duijangyan
Guangyuan Shiyan Xiangyang
(PDL) via Jiujiang, itself a natural areas, which straddles Huanggang
Huzhou
component of the eight horizontal the China-North Korea border, Mianyang
Wuhan Anqing
Hangzhou
Wanzhou Ningbo
and eight vertical trunk route and is known by its Korean Chengdu Yichang
Jiujiang Jinhua
Lichuan
plan being implemented name of Mount Paektu. The Changde Shangrao
Taizhou
throughout the country. fastest service takes just 37 Qianjiang
Chongqing
Yiyang
Nanchang Wenzhou
Construction on the line minutes with 14 train pairs Yibin Loudi
Tongren
commenced in December 2016 operating in the new timetable. Leshan Huaihua
Changsha Nanping
and it was initially served by eight Guangzhou’s 88km Nansha Guiyang Hengyang
Shaoyang Sanming Fuzhou
Anshun
daily train pairs, rising to 24 in port railway opened on Liupanshui Taipei
Ganzhou
the new national timetable that December 31. The 120km/h up!Lvonjoh Longyan
N
entered force on January 10. line has eight new stations TAIWAN
Guilin Meizhou
Overall, the timetable added from Jiangmen via Foshan and Guangzhou Xiamen
Kaohsiung
96 new passenger services to Zhongshan to Guangzhou, of Baise Yulin Shenzhen
Shantou
the national network, and 65 which Nansha Port and Nanning Zhuhai IRJ
Kowloon
freight services. Nansha Port South stations are

IRJ February 2022 5

 News | extra
with seven stations. Construction
is underway on the final
Zhuangzhai - Lankao section.

Private funding
The first Chinese high-speed
line funded by a public-private
partnership (PPP) opened on
January 8 between Hangzhou,
Shaoxing and Taizhou. The
266.9km, 350km/h line runs
from Hangzhou, the capital of
east China’s Zhejiang province,
to Taizhou, via Shaoxing. There
are nine stations on the Yuan
44.90bn line. The new railway
connects with the Shanghai -
Kunming, Shanghai - Hangzhou,
Ningbo - Hangzhou, Hangzhou -
Huangshan and Hangzhou -
Shenzhen high-speed lines.
Journey times between Hangzhou The 176km Anqing - Jiujiang high-speed line, which opened on December 30, includes the new Bianyuzhou Yangtse
and Taizhou will be reduced river bridge near Jiujiang. Photo: Shutterstock/Chuyuss
from two hours to one. by the Fosun Group, which Group, which has a 51% stake Group and the government of
Construction began in 2016 comprises Zhejiang Wanfeng in the line, with the remaining the Zhejiang province. The
and was completed in June 2021. Auto Holding Group and funding from CR, Zhejiang concessionaire will operate the
The PPP consortium is led Zhejiang Geely Holding Communications Investment line for 30 years. IRJ

New metro lines open across China as expansion continues

C HINESE cities inaugurated
499.4km of new metro in
the final week of December,
Jin’anqiao and Pingguoyian;
and the 1.9km extension to the
Capital Airport Express from
added an additional stop at
Yuyuantan East Gate, with a
further extension to
extension to the Changping
Line between Xi’erqi and
Qinqhe has also begun operating.
including 15 new lines and 11 Dongzhimen to Beixinqiao. A Wanpingcheng expected to Other openings across China
extensions to existing lines, 1km extension to Line 16 has open this year. A 1.5km include:
continuing the tradition of
Number of
opening new lines and City Line Distance Opening date Cost (Yuan) Notes
stations
extensions during the new
year period. Dalian Line 13 43km December 28 12 New line, ATO
In Beijing three new lines Foshan Line 2 32.3km December 28 17 2.4bn New line
and six extensions opened on
Hefei Line 4 41.4km December 26 31 24.48bn New line
December 31. The new lines
are the 4.2km west section of Luoyang Line 2 18.3km December 26 19 New Line
Line 11 from Moshikou to New underground line,
Shougang, which has four Nanchang Line 4 39.6km December 26 29 4.63bn with 5.5km elevated
stations and will serve Winter section
Olympic venues, which Beijing
Nanjing Line 2 5.4km December 28 5 Extension
will host from February 4-20;
the 22.4km Line 19 running Nanjing Line S6 43.6km December 28 13 New line
north-south through the centre Ningbo Line 5 27.9km December 28 22 New line, GoA 4
of the city, which has 10
stations, eight of which are Qingdao Line 1 42.7km December 28 29 Extension
interchanges with other metro Shanghai Line 14 38.2km December 30 31 57.68bn New line
lines; and the 16.5km southern
Phase 1 northern
section of Line 17 from Shilihe Shanghai Line 18 21.4km December 30 18
extension
to Yizhuang South, which has
seven stations, is fully Shenzhen Line 20 8.4km December 28 5 New line, GoA 4
automatic and has a 100km/h Tianjin Line 4 19.4km December 28 14 New line
maximum speed.
Tianjin Line 6 15.3km December 28 9 Extension
The extensions include
4.3km of Line 8 connecting New underground line,
Wuhan Line 5 34.6km December 26 26 23.266bn
Qianmen to Wangfujing Street GoA 4
with three stations; a 4km Wuhan Line 16 31.7km December 26 11 18.7bn New line
section on Line 14 with five
Wuhan Line 6 7km December 26 5 Extension
stations between Xiju and
Beijing South Station; a 1.2km New line, 80km/h
Wuhu Line 2 15.8km December 28 11
section on Line 1 between driverless monorail

6 IRJ February 2022

 News | headlines
China approves construction of new high-speed lines
C HINA’s National
Development and Reform
Commission (NDRC) approved
the 477.9km Ankang - Xi’an
section of the 350km/h
Chongqing - Xi’an high-speed
line on January 6.
The project includes the
construction of 446.7km of new
line with 11 new stations, as
well as a 90.2km line with
three stations connecting Fan
Kuai and Wanzhou via Kaizhou.
The line will have a capacity
for 40 million passenger
journeys per year. Construction
will cost Yuan 123.7bn ($US
19.55bn), including Yuan 7.4bn
for rolling stock, over six years.
Of this, China National
Railway (CR) is providing
Yuan 17bn, Shaanxi province
Yuan 5.6bn, Sichuan province
Yuan 21.6bn and Chongqing
municipality Yuan 17.1bn. The
line will be equipped with
China’s CTCS Level 3
signalling system.
NDRC also approved the
348.9km Tianjin - Weifang
350km/h high-speed line in
DB launches digital automatic coupling test train
G ERMAN Rail (DB)
launched trial operation
of a freight train fitted with
digital automatic couplers
(DAC) on January 19.
The train will initially travel
from Germany to Austria and
Switzerland, followed by other
European Union (EU)
countries until the end of 2022.
Testing of DAC will take place
in different driving situations
experienced in Germany including
steep inclines, sharp curves
and different climatic conditions.
Practical tests completed at the
end of 2021 included mainline
trips in Germany and coupling
tests in marshalling yards. DB
$US 1.9bn Tanzanian standard gauge railway contract awarded
T HE director general of
Tanzania Railway Corporation
(TRC), Mr Masanja Kadogosa,
and the acting chairman of
Turkish contractor Yapi Merkezi,
Mr Erdem Arioglu, have
signed a $US 1.9bn contract to
build the 358km Makutupora -
Tabora section of the Tanzania
standard gauge railway (SGR).
The Makutupora - Tabora
section includes 294km of
mainline and 74km of branch
IRJ February 2022 7
Shandong province, with 10
stations.
The project includes a 150km
link to Jinan, and 33km of
other branch lines including a
connection with the Tianjin -
Taizhou high-speed line and the
new inter-city line connecting
Beijing with Tianjin’s Binhai
district, which is due to open
in the autumn.
Capacity will be 45 million
passenger journeys per year,
and the line is expected to take
five years to construct at a cost
of Yuan 114.5bn, including
Yuan 5.4bn for rolling stock.
Long term, the State Council,
China’s highest legislative
body, has published a new and
ambitious plan for transport
network development under
the 14th five year plan. Covering
all modes of transport, it
includes the expansion of the
high-speed network to
50,000km and a total railway
network of 165,000km by 2025.
New high-speed lines will
extend from Beijing to Shangqiu
via Xiongan, Baotou - Yinchuan,
hopes that completion of the
trials should lead to DAC
series production.
The test train is part of a
research project funded by the
Federal Ministry for Digital
lines, with seven stations along
the route. The contract includes
construction of the single-track
line, signalling and
electrification, and will be
completed in October 2025.
Overseeing the signing, the
president of Tanzania, Ms
Samia Suluhu Hassan, said the
contract took the total
investment in the SGR project
to Shillings 14.7 trillion ($US
6.38bn).
Xiangyang - Changde, Tianjin -
Xinyi, Xi’an - Chongqing, Xi’an -
Shiyan, Changsha - Ganzhou,
Xiongan - Xinzhou, Taiyuan -
Suide, Yan’an - Ordos via Yulin,
Changchun - Tonghua, Dunhua -
Mudanjiang, Harbin - Tieli,
Shanghai - Hangzhou via Zhapu,
Ningbo - Fuzhou via Taizhou and
Wenzhou, Jiaozuo - Pingdingshan
via Luoyang, Fuyang -
Huanggang, Yiyang - Loudi,
Tongren - Jishou, Shaoyang -
Yongzhou, Nanchang - Jiujiang,
and Zhanjiang - Haian.
New conventional lines
include a second line connecting
Liuzhou with Guangzhou, plus
lines from Ruijin to Meizhou,
Wenzhou - Ji’an via Wuyishan,
Dingxi - Qingyang via
Pingliang, Taizicheng -
Xilinhot, Xiantao - Jianli via
Honghu, Taiyuan - Heshun,
Dali - Panzhihua, and Wubei -
Zhundong. The plan also
includes upgrading the Fuyu -
Jiagdaqi, Nanjing - Wuhu,
Yaqueling - Yichang, Tianjin -
Jixian, Wangqing - Tumen, and
Zhongwei - Pingliang lines.
Photo: Deutsche Bahn AG/Oliver Lang
Affairs and Transport (BMDV)
which has contributed e13m.
The project involves a consortium
comprising DB, DB Cargo, SBB
Cargo, Rail Cargo Austria, Ermewa,
GATX Rail Europe and VTG.
Yapi Merkezi is already
constructing the 205km Dar es
Salaam - Morogoro and 348km
Morogoro - Makutopora
sections of the 1211km line,
which will run from Dar es
Salaam to Mwanza, and
expects to sign a contract for a
fourth 167km Tabora - Isaka
section “very soon.” Electrical
testing on the Dar es Salaam -
Morogoro section began in
May 2021.
In brief
Austria
Austrian Federal Railways
(ÖBB) plans to invest e2.9bn
across its network in seven
regions in 2022 as part of its
e18.2bn five-year investment
plan in the rail network,
announced on November 3.
This covers the 2022-27 period.
● Excavation of the 27.3km
dual-bore Semmering Base
Tunnel is now 80% complete.
ÖBB says around 500m
remains to be excavated in the
second bore.
Brazil
Construction of the 405km
Guarapuava - Paranaguá
freight line has been approved,
the final project from a list of
10 submitted to the Ministry of
Infrastructure last September.
This follows approval of the
76km Maracaju - Dourados,
166km Cascavel - Foz do
Iguaçu and 286km Cascavel -
Chapecó lines at the start of
January.
Britain
The British government
deposited the High Speed Rail
(Crewe - Manchester) Bill in
parliament on January 24. If
approved, this would give
permission to construct the
83.6km line from Crewe to
Manchester. The new line is
expected to open between 2035
and 2040.
● The Office of Rail and Road
(ORR) has authorised the
passenger use of 30 two-car
and 12 three-car class 197
DMUs built by CAF for
Transport for Wales (TfW)
Rail. The Spanish manufacturer
is constructing 51 two-car and
26 three-car 160km/h DMUs
for the Welsh operator, and
these are due to begin operation
this year, initially in north Wales.
Chile
A ceremony on January 12
marked the start of work on a
new station at Tres Poniente
and the renovation of
Vespucio and Ciudad Satélite
stations for the $US 1.55bn
project to upgrade the 61km
Santiago Alameda - Melipilla
line for commuter rail services.
China
The China Media Group
(CMG) has unveiled 5G
 News | headlines
Alternative traction for Australian heavy-haul operators
R
IO Tinto has ordered four
FLXdrive battery-electric
locomotives from Wabtec to
haul trains in the Pilbara region
of Western Australia, while
BHP subsidiary Western
Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) has
ordered two FLXdrive battery
locomotives from Wabtec.
Delivery for all six is due in
2023.
The 7MW units, which are
entirely battery-powered, are
expected to reduce fuel costs
and emissions by a double-
digit percentage per train. The
FLXdrive units will be formed
in the consist and will recharge
during the journey through
regenerative braking. Wabtec’s
Trip Optimiser technology will
be fitted to the locomotives
and will determine the optimal
times to discharge and
European Commission starts consultation on state aid rules for rail
T HE European Commission
has commenced a public
consultation on a proposed
revision to the 2008 Guidance
on State Aid for Railway
Undertakings, which the EC
says it hopes will make it
easier for member states to
support less polluting and
more sustainable transport
modes.
The guidelines set out the
conditions under which aid to
railway companies may be
considered compatible with the
internal market and state aid
rules. The EC says state aid can
help to overcome the long-
standing lack of interoperability
and the need for digitalisation
to encourage the development
of cross-border services and
8 IRJ February 2022
recharge the batteries along the
route to ensure the most fuel-
efficient operation of the entire
locomotive consist.
WAIO has also ordered two
eight-axle battery EMD Joule
locomotives from Caterpillar
subsidiary Progress Rail. The
locomotives have 14.5MWh of
battery capacity. The railway
will test the battery locomotives’
performance and emissions
reduction capabilities on its
iron-ore services from Pilbara
mines to the Port Hedland
export facility. It says trials will
support its plans to electrify its
iron-ore fleet of more than 180
locomotives.
In addition, Australia’s largest
rail freight company, Aurizon,
and mining giant Anglo
American will work together
on a feasibility study to assess
improve rail’s overall
competitiveness, reduce
emissions, and facilitate modal
shift.
An evaluation by the EC
found that the current
guidelines have made an
important contribution to
encouraging modal shift to rail
and promoting interoperability.
However, the EC says
adjustments are necessary to
reflect the latest market and
regulatory developments and
to enable the sector to embrace
a green and digital transition
in line with the objectives of
the EU Green Deal.
The proposed revision will
consider:
● simplifying the rules on aid
for coordination of transport
the introduction of hydrogen-
powered trains for bulk freight.
The six-month study will
explore the use of hydrogen-
powered technology used with
mine trucks in South Africa
and how this could be applied
to heavy freight trains in
Queensland. Aurizon’s fleet
currently uses up to 200
million litres of diesel a year.
The feasibility study will focus
on the potential deployment of
Anglo American’s hydrogen
power technology on Aurizon’s
Moura rail corridor that operates
between Anglo American’s
Dawson metallurgical coal mine
and Gladstone Port, and the
Mount Isa rail corridor that
operates between the North
West Minerals Province to
Townsville Port, via Aurizon’s
Stuart Terminal.
that supports the modal shift
to more sustainable transport
solutions
● extending the scope of the
railway guidelines, in
particular to include all
relevant transport operators in
the intermodal chain, which
contribute to the modal shift of
freight from road to less
polluting and more sustainable
transport solutions
● removing barriers to market
entry or expansion of new
market players, in particular
access to suitable rolling stock
and vessels
● ensuring the modernisation
of fleets and network
interoperability
● contributing to avoid cross-
subsidisation between
Madrid - Galicia
high-speed
service starts
A ROUND 5000 passengers
travelled on the first
day of high-speed services
between Ourense and
Madrid on December 21,
according to Spanish
national operator Renfe.
The first train departed
Ourense at 06.30 carrying
160 passengers. The first
train left Madrid Chamartin
at 10.00 with all seats
occupied.
The final section of the
Madrid - Galicia high-speed
line was completed in
November with operations
commencing on the Pedralba
de la Pradería - Ourense
section, reducing journey
times between the Spanish
capital and the region by an
hour.
The standard-gauge line
allows AVE services to operate
at 300km/h. However,
250km/h class 130 and 730
Alvia gauge-changing trains
will also be used on the line,
operating from Ourense to A
Coruña, Ferrol, Lugo,
Pontevedra and Vigo. Renfe
is certifying the first gauge-
changing trains to operate at
330km/h, and these will
reduce journey times
between Madrid and Galicia
by a further 20 minutes.
commercial activities and those
subject to public service
obligations of vertically-
integrated railway companies.
● assessing the need for rules
on public transport services in
all areas of rail transport that
were not yet covered by the
current guidelines, in
particular for freight services,
and
● assessing the need for
adjusted rescue and
restructuring rules applicable
to railway undertakings.
Responses to the
questionnaire posted on the
commission’s Better Regulation
Portal are possible up to March
16 2022. Adoption of the new
guidelines is expected by the
end of 2023.
Standard gauge line opens in Dakar
T HE president of Senegal,
Mr Macky Sall, inaugurated
the first section of the 57km
standard-gauge Dakar TER
line on December 27.
The initial part of the line is
the 36km section from Dakar
city centre to Diamniadio,
which was due to open in the
middle of 2019 but was
delayed by Covid-19. The new
line is expected to carry
115,000 passengers per day.
Seter (a consortium of French
National Railways (SNCF) and
Keolis) is operating the TER
under an operation and
maintenance contract for five
years when it is expected that
a new state-owned operator
Asenter will take over.
Eventually the line will
connect Dakar to the new
Blaise-Diagne International
Airport (AIBD) with journeys
taking 45 minutes. The second
phase is due to open in 2023.
The CFA Francs 780bn ($US
134.16m) cost for the first
In brief
livestreaming audio technology
on the 350km/h Beijing -
Zhangjiakou high-speed line
ahead of the start of the Winter
Olympics which take place
between February 4 and 20.
France
After French National Railways
(SNCF) relaunched two daily
overnight services from Paris
to Loudres and Briançon on
December 12, the French
government says it is hoping
to expand the overnight offer
further in the coming years.
Transport minister, Mr Jean-
Baptiste Djebbari, says the plan
is to offer journeys from
France to cities across continental
Europe as well domestic
locations, adding that a call
for expression of interest in
the continental services will be
launched in early 2022.
Germany
DB Regio has ordered 17 high-
capacity Alstom Coradia
Stream EMUs for the Main-
Weser network. The order
comprises 13 four-car and four
five-car trains which will
begin operating from
IRJ February 2022
phase (which does not include
taxes and customs fees) received
AŽD
funding from a number of
sources including CFA Francs
197bn from the Islamic
Development Bank (IDB), CFA
Francs 196.6bn from the French
government and CFA Francs
120bn from the African
Development Bank (ADB). The
Senegalese government has
invested CFA Francs 250bn.
The new line largely follows
LEADER IN
AUTONOMOUS
the western section of the
existing Dakar - Diourbel
metre-gauge line, which has
TRAINS
been upgraded as part of the
project.
Four-car 72m-long 160km/h
Alstom Polyvalent bi-mode
trains operate on the line. They
have capacity for 565 passengers
in first and second class and
can operate in multiple. Trains
operate between 05.00 and
22.00 daily with a 20-minute
frequency, and a plan to
integrate rail with bus links is
currently under construction.
December 2024. The four-car
EMUs will feature two
double-deck driving vehicles
and two single-deck
intermediate vehicles. The
five-car EMUs will feature an Enter with us into the
DIGITAL and DRIVERLESS
additional double-deck inter-
mediate vehicle.
● Alstom and German Rail
(DB), in cooperation with the
states of Baden-Württemberg AGE of RAILWAYS
and Bavaria, commenced “Lower your operational costs and allow your clients
passenger trials with a BEMU a comfortable and safe autonomous experience.”
in Baden-Württemberg on
January 24, with further trials
due to start on February 5 in
Bavaria. DB Regio will operate
the trains with the tests  Based on the proprietary and successful
continuing until the beginning technology ATO GoA2 in commercial operation
of May. for 25+ years, @300+ vehicles
 Powerful detection of obstacles on track
Netherlands  Artificial Intelligence involved in control,
Hitachi and Intermodal
Telematics (IMT) have agreed perception and reaction
an exclusive long-term  Endorses ERTMS / ETCS automatic train protection
partnership that will add  LTE, 5G, WLAN communications employed
IMT’s monitoring sensors to
(FRMCS ready)
Hitachi’s existing digital
freight service portfolio.
● Netherlands Railways’ (NS) www.azd.cz
passenger numbers in 2021
were 48% of the total carried
member of Shift2Rail
in 2019 before the Covid-19
pandemic. On average, NS and Europe’s Rail
 News | headlines
$US 2.87bn Penn
Station contract
awarded
T HE Metropolitan
Transportation Authority
(MTA) has approved a $US 2.87bn
design and build contract for
the Penn Station Access Project
in New York, which is expected
to be operational in 2027.
A joint venture of Halmar
International and RailWorks
will conduct the work, which

Erdogan opens Turkey’s Konya - Karaman line when complete will support a
direct Metro-North service

T URKISH president, Mr Recep Erdogan,
opened the 102km Konya - Karaman line at
a ceremony in Konya on January 8, where he
was accompanied by minister of transport and
infrastructure, Mr Adil Karaismailoglu, and
other ministers, deputies and officials.
The 200km/h freight and passenger line cost
Lira 1.39bn ($US 102.4m) and is expected to save
OnTRAC develops lidar-based system for autonomous vehicles
the Turkish economy Lira 63m a year through
saved time and energy and reduced emissions.
The line reduces Konya - Karaman journey
times from 1h 20min to 40 minutes, and Ankara -
Konya - Karaman journey times from 3h 10min
to 2h 40min. The planned extension to Adana is
expected to reduce Konya - Karaman - Adana
journey times to 2h 20min.
from the Bronx, Westchester
and Connecticut to Penn station
and Manhattan’s west side.
More than 30.5km of new
and rehabilitated track will be
installed to create a largely
four-track line instead of the
current two-track system. Four
new fully-accessible stations
will be constructed in the East

A The programme was developed with innovative deep learning Bronx at Co-Op City, Morris
partnership of three companies
by Thales, Ottawa-based lidar and artificial intelligence (AI) Park, Parkchester/Van Nest
has announced the successful
system designer and manufacturer algorithms for object detection, and Hunts Point while four
completion of the two-and-a-
Lumibird Canada, and the classification and tracking in a bridges will be overhauled. In
half-year Ontario Train Autonomy
Lassonde School of Engineering systems architecture that addresses addition, Metro-North’s New
Collaboration (OnTRAC)
at York University, a Toronto- the stringent safety needs and Rochelle Yard will be reconfigured,
project to develop, prototype,
based research team with performance requirements for four new and one reconfigured
and validate the feasibility and
extensive expertise in the 3D autonomous rail operation. interlockings will be introduced
functionality of a state-of-the-
modelling of railway The system will support the along with five new and two
art lidar-based sensor fusion
infrastructure. development of safe, autonomous upgraded substations. The
system. The technology is
Using the Opal 3D lidar product urban rail systems, making rail signalling, power and
designed to be integrated with
family, the project developed more efficient, cheaper to run, communication infrastructure
autonomous rail vehicles for
an integrated suite of different and capable of 24/7 functionality will also be modernised.
obstacle detection, classification
vision sensors including a while minimising accidents Services will operate on
and tracking (OCDT) in
novel, scalable, 3D lidar design, caused by human error. Amtrak’s existing Hell Gate
varying weather conditions.
Line, which will be rehabilitated

Islamabad - Tehran - Istanbul freight service relaunched

A freight service connecting the capitals of Pakistan
and Iran with Istanbul in Turkey has been relaunched,
with the inaugural train departing Islamabad
on December 21 and reaching Ankara on January
3 before continuing to Istanbul. The inaugural
train was flagged off for the 6000km journey by
Pakistan railways minister, Mr Azam Khan Swati,
foreign affairs minister, Mr Shah Mahmood
thereby improving reliability
of inter-city services and
Qureshi, Turkish ambassador, Mr Ahsan preparing that corridor for
Mustafa, and adviser to the prime minister for high-speed operation in the
commerce and investment, Mr Abdul Razak future. Amtrak will contribute
Dawood. The service is currently being used by $US 500m towards the project
freight forwarders Maxtel Logistics and Haroon and has also agreed to pay the
Brothers. The train initially consists of bulk costs of any delay if it fails to
freight wagons, with the addition of intermodal meet commitments to provide
freight envisaged in a second phase. outages or workforce.

Dutch to expand main line ATO trials
A trial with automatic train
operation (ATO)
conducted in February 2020
between Groningen
and Buitenpost by ProRail, the
Province of Groningen and
Arriva using a Stadler GTW
diesel train is to be expanded
following the addition of
Netherlands Railways (NS) to
the team.
The original trial conducted
with passengers had a driver
on board who manually
activated the ATO system. For
the new trials, the driver will
activate the ATO remotely and
the train will use a 5G
communication system.
The new test runs will take
place this summer mainly at
night between Groningen
station, De Vork shunting yard
in Groningen and
the NedTrain shunting yard
near Onnen. The cost of the
new trials is estimated at
e2.5m.  between the two countries. He
Agreement signed for Iran - Iraq link
A N agreement has been
signed to build a 32km
rail link from Shalamcheh in
Iran to Basra in Iraq. The
estimated cost of the project is
$US 100-120m with
construction expected to take
two years.
Mr Rostam Ghasemi, Iran’s
minister for roads and urban
development, says the line is
important for passenger
transport and the relationship
says a connection to the
Mediterranean Sea is another
motivation for building the
line, pointing out that the line
between Iraq and Syria
requires reconstruction having
been damaged during the
conflict.
Each country will have a
50% share in the investment.
Ghasemi says the private
sector in Iran has already
confirmed interest in investing
in the project.

10 IRJ February 2022

 In brief

Unused Talgo trains sold to Nigeria Tarancón - carried 611,000 passengers per
day, down from 1.3 million in

T RAINS built by Talgo for

operation in the US Midwest
On January 18, governor of
Lagos State, Mr Babajide Cuenca - Utiel 2019.

Norway
line to close?
more than a decade ago, but Sanwo-Olu, attended a
which never entered traffic, ceremony at Talgo’s Milwaukee Infrastructure manager Bane

S
will move to Nigeria where factory to mark the purchase of PAIN’s Ministry of
they will be used for commuter the two trains. He has suggested Transport (Mitma) has
services in Lagos. that the deal opens the door to presented the XCuenca plan,
The Spanish manufacturer future orders and job creation. which proposes the closure of
built two 14-car Talgo 8 trains The trains will operate on the 214km Tarancón - Cuenca -
for Amtrak’s Hiawatha line the Red Line, which will Utiel section of the
between Milwaukee and Chicago. eventually link Marina and conventional non-electrified
The state of Wisconsin purchased Agbado with a branch to the Madrid - Cuenca - Valencia
them in 2009 but subsequently city’s airport. The first phase line.
defaulted on the contract three will operate from Oyingbo to Under the plan, regional
years later after a decision was Agbado. Sanwo-Olu has trains will be replaced by
made not to pay for the train’s pledged to improve transport buses and on-demand
maintenance. A lawsuit with in the Lagos region. The first transport, with rail in the
Talgo followed, with the phase is due to open in the last province of Cuenca limited to
manufacturer keeping the trains. quarter of 2022. services on the high-speed
line. The stretch would be
transformed into a cycle and
greenway and valuable land in
Cuenca will be made available
for development.
Proponents argue that the
line is obsolete and that it is
not worth investing in
improvements. An average of
just 37 passengers used trains
on the route in 2019, with
journeys between Madrid and
Cuenca taking 3h 15min, an
hour longer than the
equivalent bus trip. Cuenca -
Valencia trains take 4h 4min.
However, these services were
suspended in January after
storm Filomena damaged
infrastructure which Adif is
yet to repair. Madrid - Cuenca
services are still in operation
Hitachi EMUs begin operating in Taiwan: Taiwan president, Mr but are susceptible to delays
Su Tseng-chang, launched the first of 50 12-car EMU3000 trains and cancellations.
built by Hitachi for Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) at
Taitung on December 26. The first three 150km/h 25kV 60Hz
EMUs entered traffic on December 29 2021 on the island’s East Reduced services
Coast line, with two more to follow by this year’s Spring The government’s plan will
Festival. The EMU3000s increase capacity by 40%. leave the province with just a
India - Myanmar line location approved
single station compared with
11 at present and is preparing
Nor has agreed three
framework contracts with 23
suppliers for infra-structure
work across the country’s
4067km railway network. The
combined value of the three
contracts is NKr 2.80bn ($US
320.6m).
Poland
Solidarity Transport Hub
(STH) has launched a tender
to select up to 20 contractors to
provide contract engineering
services for the construction of
new railway lines as part of
the STH project. The contracts
are worth a combined Zlotys
2.5bn ($US 613.5m).
Serbia
Serbia plans to rebuild and
modernise about 300km of
railway in 2022 compared with
450km in 2021. Railway
Infrastructure Serbia (IZS) says
work has begun to modernise
the 108km Novi Sad - Subotica
section of the Novi Sad -
Subotica - Kelebija line. The
modernisation of the 68.8km
Jajinci - Mala Krsna line,
which forms part of the Pan-
European railway Corridor X
through Serbia, is in the final
phase.
● A DB Systemtechnik
measuring train is conducting
test runs on the newly-
upgraded 74.9 km Belgrade -
Novi Sad line. The train made
its first test run on January 17.
Commercial operations will
commence on the line from
March 15.

I NDIAN Railways (IR) has

sanctioned the final location
survey (FLS) to construct a
strategic 111km broad-gauge
line from Imphal, the state
capital of Manipur, to Moreh,
located on the Indian-
Myanmar border, as part of the
initiative to improve
international rail connections
in South Asia.
The project had been on
hold after an earlier survey
conducted by the Rail India
Technical and Economic
Services (Rites) concluded that
the project was not financially
viable. However, railways
minister, Mr Ashwani
Vaibhaw, has instructed
officials of the Northeast
Frontier Railways (NFR) to
re-start and complete the
project within three years.
The line, a critical
component of the proposed
Trans-Asian Rail Network, will
provide rail connectivity from
India to Myanmar and
Thailand and eventually to
China. The Indian government
believes that Moreh can
emerge as a trade hub in South
Asia.
to launch a subsidised Avant
regional service on the high-
speed line to make up for the
shortfall.
Supporters of the railway,
including Pueblos con el Tren,
an association of towns served
by the line, argue that the line
has been deliberately
abandoned resulting in a
decline in performance.
Journey times between Madrid
and Cuenca were 2h 30min in
2001 and Cuenca - Valencia
took 3 hours. Some line
sections still use rails and
sleepers that are 70-years-old.
Spain
French National Railways
(SNCF) subsidiary Captrain
Spain has begun operating the
first of six 1668mm Iberian
gauge Euro6000 locomotives
from Stadler. The remaining
eight locomotives will be
standard gauge while an
agreement with Alpha Trains
offers the long-term lease of
up to 21 locomotives.
● Madrid Chamartín station
will be upgraded under a
e207m project that will
include the construction of

IRJ February 2022 11

 News | headlines
Russian Railways EMU operates at GoA 3 on Moscow Central Circle
O FFICIAL demonstrations
of a Lastochka EMU
operating at Grade of
Automation (GoA) 3 took place
on the Moscow Central Circle
(MCC) network on January 13
and 14, a key step towards the
start of commercial operation
of the train at GoA 3 on the
MCC later this year.
The train covered two
circuits of the 54km route on
January 13, commencing the
journey from Andronovka
station and running to the
depot at Podmoskovnoye
following stops at 62 stations.
Another one-and-a-half circuits
and 46 station stops were
completed at GoA 3 on January
14. The train operated without
passengers and with a driver
acting in a supervisory
capacity with passengers
warned at stations not to board
the train after it had stopped.
According to Russian news
agency Gudok, Mr Pavel
Popov, deputy director general
of the Institute for Information
Technology, Signalling and
Telecommunications in
Railway Transport of the
Ministry of Railways of the
IRJ promotes David Burroughs to News Editor
I RJ is pleased to announce
that David Burroughs has
been promoted to News Editor.
Burroughs, a native of
Taranaki, New Zealand, joined
IRJ in June 2018 as News and
Features Writer following a
stint with the Evening Telegraph
in Dundee, Scotland.
In his new role, Burroughs
will lead IRJ’s news desk,
overseeing IRJ’s leading
Consultation planned for Prague-Smíchov - Beroun line
C ZECH infrastructure
manager SZŽ has
announced it will hold a
preliminary market
consultation event as it
continues to develop plans for
the Koruna 38bn ($US 1.76bn)
Prague-Smíchov - Beroun line,
which will run predominately
underground.
SZŽ says the project is one of
the largest transport projects in
the country, and will create a
new double-track line to
directly connect Prague-
Smíchov and Beroun stations,
releasing capacity on the
12 IRJ February 2022
Russian Federation (NIIAS),
says the EMU has completed
more than 7000km of trials on
the MCC “both during the day
and at night.” Extensive trials
with two of the trains at GoA 3
have also taken place at the
Shcherbinka test circuit on the
outskirts of Moscow.
The system is estimated to
reduce headways between
trains operating on the MCC
from four minutes to three.
Each cab is equipped with
eight optical cameras, a
thermal imaging device, two
lidars and ultrasonic sensors.
Cameras are fitted to the
pantograph on the second and
fourth cars of the train to
monitor contact with the
overhead line. An artificial
intelligence (AI) system has
been trained to recognise and
respond to potential obstacles
on the track, including by
using the thermal imaging
system to detect whether the
object is a person. The system
is operational up to 600-800m
during the day and 300-400m
at night. The automated system
is able to stop the train before a
collision takes place,
railway industry website as
well as news coverage in the
monthly magazine, working
closely with the publication’s
network of global correspondents.
He will also continue to
contribute feature articles and
represent the publication at
events around the world as
well as play a key role in the
production of the magazine
every month.
existing line between the
stations for suburban services
and improving capacity from
Prague towards Beroun, Plzen,
Nuremberg and Munich.
A “meet the buyer”
videoconference in Czech is
scheduled for February 10, to
be followed by a
videoconference in English on
February 11.
The project will include the
construction of 25km-long
dual-bore tunnels at up to
130m deep. The majority of the
tunnelling will be completed
with tunnel boring machines
Regular operation at GoA 3 is expected to begin this summer.
responding in less than a
second, much faster than an
equivalent human reaction.
Russian Railways (RZD) has
cooperated with Siemens and
NIIAS on the project. NIIAS
secured certification from the
Eurasian Economic Union
(EAEU) in December for the
automatic train operation
system, including the obstacle
detection system and
corresponding software as well
as software for remote control
of the train. These certificates
are valid until 2026.
Work is underway to certify
“I am delighted to announce
that we have promoted
David,” says Kevin Smith, IRJ
editor-in-chief. “It has been
fantastic to see David grow as
a journalist over the last three-
and-a-half years and contribute
some interesting and insightful
articles to IRJ. He is a real asset
to our team, and I look
forward to working with him
for a long time to come.”
(TBM), with conventional
tunnelling methods also
expected to be used.
The project is currently in
the design phase, with
preparation of the documentation
for the development permit
due to be completed in 2023.
The documentation for the
construction permit is expected
to be prepared between 2024
and 2026. Construction is
expected to be completed
between 2027 and 2036,
although construction could
begin in 2025 if a design and
build contract is used.
operation of the trains at GoA
4, meaning that no driver is
onboard the train. Under this
scenario driver operators will
monitor the movement of
trains on the MCC from
Andronovka station. They will
have the capability to control
the train remotely in the event
of an emergency. Initial tests of
these trains are expected to
commence this summer. A
decision to approve operation
at GoA 4 on the Russian
network is expected in 2023
based on the results of these
tests.
$US 2.6bn contract
awarded to renew
Argentinean line
A RGENTINA’s minister
of transport, Mr Alexis
Guerrera, has met with
mangers from China
Railway Construction
Corporation (CRCC) to
advance the reopening of
the San Martín Cargas line,
after CRCC was awarded a
$US 2.6bn contract, which
includes the renewal of
1813km of track.
The roughly 1000km line
runs from Retiro in Buenos
Aires to Mendoza, near the
Chilean border.
The reopening of the line
is included in Argentina’s
Railway Transport
Modernisation Plan,
overseen by Guerrera, and
will have a direct impact on
the regional economies in
Mendoza, San Luis,
Córdoba, Santa Fe and
Buenos Aires.

Work begins on new inter-Korean
K president, Mr Kim Jong-un,
OREAN president, Mr
Moon Jae-in, attended a
groundbreaking ceremony for
the 110.9km northern section
of the Donghae Line between
Jejin station in Goseong and
the eastern coastal city of
Gangneung.
The line will connect
Goseong, which is currently
only connected to the North
Korean rail network, with the
rest of the South Korean
network.
Moon and North Korean
RRX line to be expanded under e400m deal
T
HE German federal
government and German
Rail (DB) have signed a e400m
agreement to finance the
expansion of the line between
Düsseldorf-Reisholz and
Wehrhahn station to six tracks
to segregate Rhine-Ruhr
Express (RRX), long-distance
and S-Bahn services through
Düsseldorf.
The funding will also be
used to install modern
CN calls for divestment of line during CP-KCS merger
C ANADIAN National (CN)
says it will ask the Surface
Transportation Board (STB) to
divest Kansas City Southern
(KCS) lines from Kansas City
to Springfield and East St
Louis (known as the
Springfield line) as part of its
response to the planned
Canadian Pacific (CP) and KCS
merger.
CN said it will file its
response on February 28, the
STB’s procedural schedule
deadline.
CP and KCS agreed to merge
IRJ February 2022 13
line
completed as early as 2027.
agreed to construct the railway
in the Panmunjeom Declaration
of 2018, but the project was put
on hold in 2019 during
denuclearisation talks between
North Korea and the United
States. Progress resumed a
year later after the South
Korean government designated
construction as an inter-Korean
cooperation project.
The project is expected to
cost around Won 2.74 trillion
($US 2.31bn) and could be
The new lines will segregate Rhine-Ruhr Express
(RRX), long-distance and S-Bahn services through
Düsseldorf. Photo: Deutsche Bahn AG / Wolfgang Klee
interlockings and a new
platform at Düsseldorf Main
Station, which will be barrier
free. More than 10km of noise
protection will be installed at
up to 6m high. DB experts will
also intensively monitor 4.4km
of track and will grind the
tracks if needed to further
reduce noise for nearby
residents.
The project will provide a
more reliable service between
and form Canadian Pacific
Kansas City (CPKC) in
September, and this was
accepted by the STB in
November for consideration.
The merger is now under
review.
CN claims that the
Springfield line is a direct
competitive alternative to CP’s
route from Kansas City to
Chicago, and beyond to Detroit
and eastern Canada.
CN says it plans to invest at
least $US 250m to improve
operating speeds and terminals
The section will complete the
line along the entirety of South
Korea’s east coast, potentially
providing a connection from
the major cities of Busan, Ulsan
and Pohang with China, Russia
and the rest of Europe.
The ground breaking was
held the same day North Korea
apparently fired a ballistic
missile, but Moon told the
ceremony the line was “a
stepping stone for peace and
regional balance.”
Cologne and Dortmund and
increase capacity at the busy
Düsseldorf node, creating
capacity for an additional
24,000 rail journeys per day. It
is part of a wider plan to
expand infrastructure between
Düsseldorf-Benrath and
Duisburg to six tracks.
DB says it will provide an
update on when construction
will begin after planning
permission has been granted.
as well as options for
customers.
Responding to CN, CP said
the proposal “is built on a
series of factual errors or
misstatements,” arguing that
the line does not run parallel to
CP’s line and questioning the
existence of any direct
connection between KCS and
CN in Springfield.
CP says that the lines will
continue to grow as part of
CPKC and reiterates its
commitment to not downgrade
any lines.
In brief
four additional platforms for
high-speed services on its east
side. The project is expected to
take five years to complete.
Russia
Sinara Transport Machines
(STM) has signed contracts
worth Roubles 1.3bn ($US
17.3m) for the supply of new-
generation TEM14M eight-axle
shunting locomotives to port
terminals in Khabarovsk and
Novorossiysk. The first
locomotive has already been
sent to Daltransugo, part of
NTK Group, where it will be
used to haul coal trains at
Vanino port in Khabarovsk
Krai.
Thailand
The government has created a
working panel to coordinate
with transport authorities in
Laos on plans to build an
873km line linking Bangkok to
Vientiane. The panel will
provide data integration on
procurement and cross-border
travel.
Turkey
Assystem has been appointed
to monitor and provide a
range of technical support
activities for the development
of the e640m 67km
Ispartakule - Çerkezköy
section of the Halkali -
Kapikule line from Istanbul to
the Bulgarian border.
United States
Brightline began operating test
trains on a 209km section
between West Palm Beach and
Cocoa on January 18, ahead of
the introduction of services on
the 378.6km Miami - Orlando
route. One round trip is
expected to operate every day
this year. Brightline says
construction on its Orlando
extension is more than 70%
complete. Services will now
start in early 2023 rather than
late 2022 as hoped.
● Alabama governor, Ms Kay
Ivey, has announced plans for
a $US 231.6m programme of
infrastructure upgrades to
improve rail freight flows from
the Port of Mobile. Class 1
railway Norfolk Southern (NS)
will provide more than 50% of
the funding as part of a public-
private partnership. IRJ
 News | transit

Stadler awarded €4bn combined tram-train order

S EVEN German and
Austrian partners awarded
Stadler a contract worth
around e4bn for up to 504
Citylink tram-trains on January
14, the largest order in the
company’s history.
The order is a result of the
Association of German Transport
Companies (VDV) Tram-Train
project, which was launched in
2017 after a discussion with
manufacturers and system
suppliers with a view to reducing
the cost of procuring the
vehicles by around 20%. The
consortium includes Karlsruhe
Transport Authority (VBK),
Albtal Transport Company
(AVG), Saarbahn, Schiene
Oberösterreich (Schiene OÖ),
the state of Salzburg, the
Neckar-Alb regional railway, and
Baden-Württemberg’s state-
owned rolling stock company
SFBW.
The contract includes a firm
order worth e1.7bn for 246
Citylink tram-trains to be
delivered over the next 12
years, as well as 16 years’
maintenance with an option to
increase this to 32 years. This
work will be subcontracted to
the partners’ workshops.
All tram-trains will be
supplied following a three-
stage design process, with the
vehicle length, number of
doors, coupling height and
configuration varying depending
on the customer. All vehicles
will be equipped with air-
conditioning and spacious
multi-purpose areas with two
wheelchair spaces. The AVG
vehicles will be equipped with
a toilet and cycle racks while
Schiene OÖ has opted to install
luggage racks.
The tram-trains will be built
in Valencia, Spain, and the first
four will be delivered to Saarbahn
as pre-series vehicles in 2024,
where they will be tested by
the consortium. Saarbahn will
then receive another 20 tram-
trains from 2025 to replace its
existing fleet, with an option
for a further 21.
From 2025, Stadler will
supply AVG with 75 tram-
trains, with an option for a
further 73, and from 2026 it
will supply 73 tram-trains to
VBK, with an option on a
further 52. Schiene OÖ will
also receive the first of 20 tram-
trains in 2026, with an option
for a further 50 sets intended
for the planned network in
Linz, which is expected to
open from the end of the 2020s.
Stadler will deliver 20 tram-
trains to Salzburg from 2026,
with an option for a further
five sets, and another 30 to the
Neckar-Alb region from 2027,
with an option for up to 57
sets.

First section of Lusail tram network opens Construction of

Ho Chi Minh City
metro Line 2 starts
C ONSTRUCTION will
commence on Ho Chi
Minh City’s metro Line 2 in
2022, the city’s Ministry of
Transport has announced, as
work on Line 1 nears
completion.
The 11.3km Line 2 will
connect Ben Thanh Market
in District 1 with Tham
Luong Depot in District 12
via districts 1, 3, 10, 12, Tan
Binh and Tan Phu. The
project includes a 2km
elevated section and a 9.3km
underground section, and
will have 11 stations,
including nine underground
and one elevated, and a depot.

T HE first 5.5km section of light railway
opened on January 1 in Lusail, a new city
located north of Doha, the capital of Qatar. The
section runs underground from Legtaifiya,
where it interchanges with the Doha Metro, to
Energy City South, with stops at Marina, Marina
Promenade, Yacht Club and Esplanade.
The full 34km network will eventually serve
25 at-grade and seven underground stations The project will cost Dong
along four lines with a connection with the Doha 47.9 trillion ($US 2.1bn) and
Metro and will be catenary-free above ground. will be funded through
Services are provided by 28 five-section low- Official Development
floor Citadis X05 new generation LRVs with Assistance (ODA) funds and
capacity for 209 passengers. Passenger by the city. The line is
information and security systems are provided scheduled to be completed in
both on the vehicles and at the stations. 2026.

Indian prime minister inaugurates first phase of Kanpur Metro

I NDIAN prime minister, Mr
Narendra Modi, inaugurated
commercial services on the first
section of phase one of the
Kanpur Metro on December
28, one of a number of urban
rail projects making progress
in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most
populous state.
The 9km section will connect
the Indian Institute of
Technology with Motijheel,
with the full 29km, Rs 110.8bn
($US 1.46bn) project due to be
completed in 2024.
The Kanpur metro includes a
19.4km elevated section. The
first corridor from Indian
Institute of Technology to
Naubasta will have 21 stations,
including 14 elevated and
seven underground, and is
expected to be operational by
the end of 2022. The second
corridor from Agriculture
University to Barra-8 will have
eight stations including four
elevated and four
underground.
Alstom has delivered four of
the 39 three-car trains it is
supplying to Kanpur under an
Rs 21.5bn contract with
another nine due by March.
Trains will operate with ATO
over CBTC, with a design
speed of 90km/h and
operational speed of 80km/h.
The line is equipped with third
rail dc electrification.

14 IRJ February 2022


Tunnelling complete on Moscow’s Big Circle Line: Tunnelling
on the final section of Moscow’s $US 6.79bn 70km Big Circle
Line (BCL) between Nagatinsky Zaton and Klenovy has been
completed. Moscow Metro says the full launch of the BCL is
now planned for either late 2022 or early 2023 following more
than 140km of tunnelling in less than 10 years. 34.5km of the
new line is already open to passenger traffic.
CBTC live on Copenhagen S-Bane
T
HE inner Copenhagen
S-Bane network is now
using CBTC after the
penultimate section was
commissioned between
Nordhavn in the north and
Carlsberg and Sydhavn in the
south, running via
Copenhagen Central, in mid-
January.
More than half of the entire
170km S-Bane network is now
controlled by CBTC rather
Santiago Metro awards Line 7
fleet and CBTC contract
S ANTIAGO Metro has
awarded Alstom a $US 365m
contract to supply 37 five-car
driverless metro trains and
supply and equip CBTC on
Line 7, which is under construction.
The supplier will provide
maintenance services for 20 years.
The 102m-long, 2.85m-wide
trains will be built at Alstom’s
plant in São Paulo and will
have capacity for 1250
passengers. Deliveries are due
to commence in early 2025 and
will continue until the middle
of 2026 with two trains
delivered per month.
Alstom will also be
responsible for the design,
engineering, testing and
IRJ February 2022 15
than analogue signalling. This
is being delivered by Siemens
under a contract awarded in
2011.
Banedanmark says that by
the end of 2022 CBTC will be
in use on the entire southern
section between Sydhavn and
Køge, Carlsberg and Høje
Taastrup and Frederikssund.
This is being delivered by
Siemens under a contract
awarded in 2011.
commissioning of CBTC
equipment on the 24.8km line,
construction of which the
metro reports is 3.7% complete
after getting underway in 2021.
It is scheduled to open in 2027.
The line will have 19 stations
and will run from Renca in the
northwest of the city, passing
through the city centre and
terminating in the districts of
Las Condes and Vitacura in
the northeast. In November,
China Railway 16th Bureau
Group won a contract to
construct phase one of the line.
The work is scheduled to begin
in the first quarter of this year.
The majority of Line 7 will
parallel the congested Line 1.
In brief
Bucharest
State-owned metro network
operator Metrorex has
awarded Alstom a e500m
15-year maintenance contract
which will include
preventative and corrective
maintenance for 82 trains.
Glasgow
Testing of the first of 17 four-
car driverless Stadler metro
trains is underway on the
Glasgow Subway. The
1219mm-gauge Strathclyde
Passenger Transport (SPT)
trains are equipped for
Unattended Train Operation
and are being manufactured at
Stadler’s Altenrhein plant in
eastern Switzerland.
London
Passenger trains will begin
operating on the new 21km
Abbey Wood - Paddington
section of the Crossrail
network in the first half of
2022, Transport for London
(TfL) confirmed on January 18,
although no specific date has
been revealed.
Los Angeles
The United States Department
of Transportation has awarded
the Los Angeles Country
Metropolitan Transportation
Authority (Metro) $US 1.24bn
of American Rescue Plan
(ARP) funding. The funding is
part of more than $US 30bn
for public transport in the
American Rescue Plan Act.
Moscow
The city’s Department of
Transport has ordered 43
three-section LRVs from PK
Transport Systems which will
commence operation this year.
The LRVs will operate on
routes 6, 15, 30 and 31 in the
northern and the northwestern
administrative districts.
Munich
The shareholders of the
Munich Transport Association
(MVV) have written to
German Rail (DB) CEO, Mr
Richard Lutz, and DB board
member, Mr Ronald Pofalla, to
complain about the poor
performance of the Munich
S-Bahn. They cite faults with
switches, signalboxes, signals,
trains and doors, severed
cables during construction
work, failures at Munich
East signalbox, line closures
and DB Network staff
shortages. MVV wants DB to
take urgent steps to rectify the
faults.
Paris
Passenger operation began on
a 1.8km e380m southern
extension of metro Line 4 from
Mairie de Montrouge to
Bagneux Lucie Aubrac on
January 13. The extension has
one intermediate station at
Barbara and a new 1500m2
depot and is expected to support
37,000 extra journeys per day.
Riyadh
The Princess Noura Bint
Abdul Rahman University has
awarded Hitachi a e72.5m
contract to operate and
maintain the 11.5km automatic
light metro system within its
campus for the next three
years.
São Paulo
São Paulo Metro has signed
the service order for the
purchase of 19 new Innovia
300 monorail trains for Line
15-Silver, which will be
manufactured in China by the
joint venture of Alstom and
CRRC. The trains will be
delivered to the East Monorail
Express Consortium (CEML).
Sydney
Sydney Metro has awarded a
$A 1.8bn ($US 1.29bn) contract
to the CPB Contractors and
Ghella Joint Venture to
excavate 9.8km of dual-bore
tunnel as part of the Western
Sydney Airport project. The
contract is split in two
sections: the 4.3km northern
tunnels run from St Marys to
Orchard Hills; and the 5.5km
southern section of tunnels
between Airport Business Park
and Aerotropolis.
Wrocław
MPK Wrocław, Poland, has
awarded Pesa a Zlotys 204m
($US 50.8m) contract to supply
24 low-floor three-section
Twist LRVs to be delivered by
mid-2024, with an option for a
further 16 LRVs. If the option
is exercised the contract will
be worth Zlotys 337.5m. IRJ
 News | financial
PKP Intercity to increase investment to $US 6.7bn by 2030
P OLISH long-distance
passenger operator PKP
Intercity has issued an
expanded development and
investment strategy, which
includes a 42% increase in its
investment budget for 2030
from Zlotys 19bn ($US 4.7bn)
to Zlotys 27bn.
The operator says this will
allow it to introduce a more
reliable timetable with double
the number of services, as well
as increasing the number of
international trains. This is
expected to increase passenger
numbers to more than 88
million in 2030.
The planned investment
includes Zlotys 24.5bn on fleet
modernisation, and another
Zlotys 2.6bn on creating
environmentally-friendly
stabling facilities. This will
increase the average speed of
operation from 120-160km/h
to 160-250km/h, decreasing
travel times. Trains will be
adapted to the needs of
passengers including those
DB Cargo orders 200 locomotives to upgrade fleet
G ERMAN Rail (DB)
subsidiary DB Cargo has
ordered 200 new locomotives
as it embarks on a long-term
programme to replace 900
older diesel locomotives. The
locomotives have been ordered
from three manufacturers and
will be used for main line
operation and shunting.
CRRC subsidiary Vossloh
Locomotives will supply 50
hybrid shunting locomotives
from 2024. DB says the new
units are designed as plug-in
Keolis confirms buyer for German rail activities
K EOLIS confirmed on
December 23 that it has
sold its German rail activities
to Team Treuhand, part of the
Noerr Group.
The French National Railways
(SNCF) subsidiary signed an
agreement to transfer
ownership on December 15
with Westphalia-Lippe Local
Transport (NWL), Rhine-Ruhr
Transport Association (VRR)
and Lower Saxony Transport
Authority (LNVG), which all
oversee railway activities in
North-Rhine Westphalia as
16 IRJ February 2022
with limited mobility or those
travelling with children.
By 2030, PKP Intercity plans to:
• purchase 35 new EMUs and
modernise another 54
• purchase 35 hybrid multiple
units
hybrids and are equipped with
a diesel engine featuring an
exhaust cleaning system. The
modular drive systems can be
easily replaced as technology
develops.
The federal government is
supporting the introduction of
the technology by providing
e15m through the Federal
Ministry of Digital Affairs and
Transport’s directive on the
promotion of alternative drives
in rail transport.
DB Cargo has also ordered 50
well as the province of
Overjissel in the Netherlands.
Team Treunand will become
the new shareholder of Keolis’
German activities, which
comprise four contracts in
North Rhine-Westphalia
operated under the Eurobahn
brand: Maas-Rhine-Lippe, the
Hellweg, the Teutoburger
Wald, and Ostwestfalen-Lippe.
Team Treunand will operate
the services under its SG
Eurobahn subsidiary. The
existing management team will
remain in place overseeing
PKP Intercity plans to modernise 55 EMUs and purchase
another 35 by 2030. Photo: Shutterstock/Zahnoi Alex
• purchase 926 coaches and
modernise another 1489
• purchase 38 seven-car push-
pull trains and 45 multi-system
electric locomotives
• purchase 16 hybrid
locomotives
Vectron Dual Mode locomotives
from Siemens Mobility,
exercising an option from an
order for 100 locomotives
signed in 2020. DB Cargo will
use 46 of the new locomotives,
while DB Railway Construction
Group will use the remaining
four. Delivery will begin in
2026, with the locomotives to
be manufactured at Siemens
Mobility’s plant in Munich-Allach.
Toshiba will also supply 100
HDB 800 hybrid shunting
locomotives, starting in 2024.
operations and 900 employees.
Meanwhile, temporary
timetables have been
introduced following the
appointment of three operators
- DB Regio, National Express
and Vias Rail - by NWL, VRR
and Rhineland Regional
Transport Association (NVR)
to replace Abellio in the North
Rhine region until December
2023. VRR also confirmed that
it has acquired depots in
Duisburg and Hagen as well as
other relevant property from
the Abellio portfolio.
• purchase 162 electric
locomotives and modernise
another 87
• purchase 28 new shunting
locomotives, and
• modernise 13 SM42 diesel
locomotives.
TMH to supply
70 EMUs for
Buenos Aires
A RGENTINA’s minister of
transport, Mr Alexis
Guerrera, has announced
Transmashholding (TMH) as
the winner of a $US 864m
contract to supply 70 eight-car
EMUs for the 25kV ac Buenos
Aires suburban network, along
with related maintenance
activities.
The 1676mm-gauge fleet is
being financed by Russia, and
the trains will be used on the
Roca, Sarmiento and San
Martin lines, some of the
busiest in the country. The
EMUs will be delivered over a
four-year period starting 27
months after the contract
comes into force.
The trains will be based on
TMH’s Ivolga 1520mm-gauge
EMU platform developed and
manufactured in Tver, Russia.
The EMU for Argentina is a
stainless steel train with a
maximum speed of 120km/h,
with capacity for up to 2000
passengers.

SJ orders 25 250km/h Alstom trains
S J has awarded Bombardier
Transportation Sweden,
now a subsidiary of Alstom, a
contract to supply 25 250km/h
trains, which will be the fastest
in Sweden. The trains will
provide domestic inter-city
services and cross-border
services to Denmark and
Norway. They are expected to
enter service in 2026.
The SKr 7bn ($US 767.1m)
Trenitalia awarded €1.19bn contract
extension, orders new Hitachi fleet
I TALIAN State Railways (FS)
passenger subsidiary
Trenitalia signed a 10-year
e1.19bn contract extension
with the Friuli Venezia Guilia
(FVG) region in northeast Italy
on January 11, which will
expire on December 31 2031.
Under the new passenger
contract, there will be a 10%
Norse Tog orders up to 200 EMUs
N
ORSKE Tog has ordered
an initial 30 Alstom
Coradia EMUs with an option
for a further 170 in a NKr 4.2bn
($US 465.97m) contract.
The first deliveries are
planned for 2024 ahead of the
start of passenger operation
on the Østfold line in 2025.
Each train will have
capacity for 778 passengers,
including 294 seats. They will
have a dedicated wheelchair
space, fully accessible toilet,
IRJ February 2022 17
order is part of SJ’s SKr 12bn
investment in new trains and
refurbishment of existing
rolling stock.
The new trains will have
space for bicycles and luggage,
and a bistro serving hot food
and seating areas. The trains
will be equipped with a
battery reserve that will allow
the train to move in the event
of a loss of power.
increase in service levels
compared with 2021.
As part of the new contract,
FS has awarded Hitachi a e270.4m
contract for 11 bi-mode trains and
14 EMUs. The first train will be
delivered in 2023, with the entire
fleet delivered by 2025. Funding
is being provided by Trenitalia
(e137m) and FVG (e133.4m).
wheelchair lifts so that trains
can operate at stations with
550mm platform heights, 2+2
seating, space for bicycles,
prams and large areas for
standing commuters.
• Norske Tog has shortlisted
Alstom Transport Norway,
CAF, Stadler and Talgo for a
NKr 6-8bn contract to supply
17 electric and bi-mode trains
for long-distance services.
The contract will include
options for up to 100 trains.
In brief
Baltics
RB Rail signed a contract with
a Systra-led consortium on
January 18 to provide engineering
and project management
services for the preparation,
procurement and supervision
of the Control-Command and
Signalling (CCS) subsystem for
the Rail Baltica high-speed
project.
Britain
FirstGroup has issued a tender
for up to 30 bi-mode
locomotives for TransPennine
Express (TPE), with an option
for a further five units for
Great Western Railway
(GWR). According to the
tender, the TPE order will be a
minimum of 15 locomotives.
Czech Republic
Czech Railways (CD) has
awarded Škoda a Koruna 5bn
($US 225.4m) contract to deliver
a further 31 three-car RegioPanter
EMUs, which will be delivered in
2024. The new trains will operate
on lines in Prague and the Central
Bohemia, Ústí nad Labem and
Hradec Králové regions.
Ethiopia
The Ethiopia-Djibouti railway,
recorded $US 86.13m in
revenue in 2021, a 37.5%
increase on 2020. The line was
used by 449 passenger trains
and 1469 freight trains during
the year, transporting 77,357
TEUs.
Europe
European leasing company
Railpool has awarded a
framework contract to Siemens
for the supply of 100 Vectron
locomotives and has placed a
firm order for 70 units, which
will operate on rail corridors
in up to 18 countries. The
locomotives will have a
maximum output of 6.4MW, a
top speed of 200km/h, and
will be equipped with national
signalling systems as well as
ETCS. The leasor has also
ordered 15 Alstom Traxx
locomotives, with an option
for a further five units, for use
in Italy, Norway and Sweden.
Delivery is expected in 2023.
• Akiem has awarded
Siemens Mobility a contract
for 20 Vectron electric
locomotives for use on
passenger services in central
and southeast Europe as well
as Scandinavia. The 200km/h
6.4MW multisystem locomotives
will be equipped with ETCS as
well as the required national
train control systems.
Germany
RDC Deutschland has lost a
contract to operate a regional
network in northern Germany
following legal action by
incumbent operator DB Regio.
Schleswig-Holstein Local
Transport Association (NAH-SH)
has now awarded the contract
for the Lot 1 North network to
Nordbahn. The contract runs
from December 2023 to
December 2035.
• Stadler has acquired
German signalling company
BBR Verkehrstechnik (BBR),
further expanding its in-house
signalling capabilities. From
January 1, Stadler pooled its
signalling expertise from seven
locations in Germany and
Switzerland into a new
signalling division.
India
Wabtec has bought railway
friction business Masu, based
in Delhi, for $US 34m. The
acquisition allows Wabtec to
expand its brake product
business and reinforce its
position in the Indian
components market.
Turkey
The Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank (AIIB) has
provided a e300m loan to the
Turkish government to
support the construction of the
e640m 67km Ispartakule -
Çerkezköy section of the
Halkali - Kapikule line.
United States
Amtrak predicts that revenue
at the end of the 2022 fiscal
year will be about 80% of pre-
Covid-19 levels after reporting
figures of about 70% at the
end of the 2021 fiscal year,
which ended on September 30
2021. These were up from 25%
at the end of the 2020 fiscal
year. Amtrak carried 12.2
million passengers in 2021,
with more than half of those
taking place in the second half
of the year and representing a
42% increase on the company’s
FY21 goal. IRJ
 Europe | policy

Is the Single European Rail Area

achievable or an impossible dream?

The Connecting Europe Express highlighted the operational

and technical challenges rail must overcome to realise its
potential on the continent. Photo: Mladen Zarkovic

Europe’s railways are experiencing a moment of unprecedented political goodwill as the European Union (EU)
seeks to encourage modal shift to reduce transport emissions. However, frustration is building within the EU
that the sector’s conservative tendencies and desire to protect the status quo will stand in the way of
delivering these ambitious targets, as Kevin Smith explains.

T
HE Connecting Europe Express
(CEE) was undoubtedly the
highlight of the European Year
of Rail and proved a fantastic
advertisement for rail transport. The
train travelled 20,000km through 26
European Union (EU) member states
over 36 days in the early autumn (IRJ
November 2021, p16) and was met by
various national dignitaries and local
people keen to celebrate rail’s role in
their respective countries.
Rail generally has a good reputation
as a green transport mode. But the CEE
provided a useful reminder of the
mode’s flaws. This was especially
valuable to the Brussels administrators
who stepped out of their bubbles to ride
the train. They could clearly see that the
utopia of a Single European Rail Area is
still a long way off.
Europe’s railway remains a
patchwork of national systems, keenly
protected by the state incumbents. The
EU wants to change this by introducing
an interoperable network and an open
market for operation. However, despite
various policies, including four railway
packages and billions of euros of
taxpayers’ money, limited progress has
been made, much to the frustration of
some in Brussels who have voiced their
concerns to IRJ.
Rail’s ability to carry a large number
of people and goods relatively quickly
over long distances with minimal
impact on the environment means it
remains central to the EU’s plans to
decarbonise transport. This is a key
objective of the Green Deal to deliver
carbon neutrality by 2050, and the Fit
for 55 programme to cut EU greenhouse
gas emissions by 55% by 2030. Closely
aligned with these objectives is the
Sustainable and Smart Mobility
Strategy, announced by the European
Commission (EC) in December 2020,
which includes several enviable targets
for modal shift to rail, such as doubling
high-speed traffic by 2030 and tripling
it by 2050, and doubling rail freight
traffic by 2050.
A flurry of policy proposals and
announcements from the EC at the
conclusion of the Year of Rail are
intended to provide the framework to
support delivery of these targets. These
include long-promised revisions to the
TEN-T Regulation, which governs the
development of the continent’s key
cross-border transport corridors and is
the centrepiece of plans to develop an
interoperable rail network (see panel).
The Action Plan on Long Distance and
Cross-Border Rail also outlines further
actions to help the EU reach the
Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy
objectives, and has been well received
by the industry (IRJ January 2022, p19).
It includes the launch of at least 15
cross-border pilot services by 2030.
Several encouraging developments
are similarly on the horizon in 2022. A
special event witll take place this month
to launch Europe’s Rail, the successor to
the Shift2Rail joint research
undertaking, which was approved by
the EU Council in November. Many of
the railway technologies produced as
part of the first iteration of the research
initiative are eagerly awaiting updates
to the Technical Specifications for
Interoperability, likely to be issued in
November. This includes technologies

18 IRJ February 2022
related to main line automation (p4).
France has also vowed to prioritise
transport and specifically emissions
reduction and modal shift during its
presidency of the European Council in
the first half of 2022, although this work
is likely to be disrupted by the French
presidential election in April.
Of course, policy announcements and
political postering are only worthwhile
if there is cash available to improve the
situation. But the EU is putting its
“
The European Year of Rail showed that we are far away
from a Single European Railway Area. The objective
which should unite us is to break the chains of national
rules, which keep railways essentially locked in in their
home countries. Barbara Thaler
money where its mouth is. Even in
challenging economic times there are
unprecedented sums now available to
support member states to deliver many
of Europe’s key rail projects and initiatives.
Of the €30bn in funding available in
the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF),
€23bn is earmarked for transport,
including €10bn for cross-border rail
schemes. Rail is potentially a major
beneficiary of grants available from the
€284bn European Regional
Development Fund (ERDF) and
Cohesion Fund (CF). The €723.8bn
Recovery and Resilience Facility,
established to support economic
recovery from Covid-19, is also set to
provide a major windfall for rail
projects, estimated at €58.2bn by the
European Rail Industry Association
(Unife) although contributions do vary
by country; as one of the largest overall
beneficiaries of the fund, Italy has
committed a staggering €29.5bn to rail
projects, including the rollout of ETCS
on main lines (p22). The European
Investment Bank also launched its
Green Rail Investment Platform on
December 16, which is designed to fast-
track rail investment.
Politically speaking rail has arguably
never had it so good. The EU is
seemingly doing its utmost to
encourage member states to develop
their railways as the centrepiece of
sustainable transport networks. Yet
there is growing frustration that the
sector is failing to grasp these
opportunities. At the current rate of
IRJ February 2022 19
progress, the Sustainable and Smart
Mobility Strategy’s modal shift targets
seem hopelessly out of reach.
“The European Year of Rail showed
that we are far away from a Single
European Railway Area,” Ms Barbara
Thaler, an Austrian MEP and member
of the Transport Committee at the
European Parliament told IRJ. “The
objective which should unite us is to
break the chains of national rules,
which keep railways essentially locked
in their home countries.”
The Fourth Railway Package is
effectively the fourth attempt to break
these chains. There have been some
successes. The expansion of the
Commission policy proposals aim to boost modal shift
O
N December 14, the EC
announced its proposals for
revising the TEN-T
Regulation. The EC says these updates
will address missing links and
modernise the network, including
increasing the minimum line speed on
the majority of the core network to at
least 160km/h by 2040.
The proposal calls for more
transhipment terminals, improved
handling capacity at freight terminals,
reduced waiting times at rail border
crossings, longer trains to shift more
freight onto cleaner transport modes,
and the option for lorries to be
transported by train. It also creates
nine “European Transport Corridors”
that integrate rail, road, and
waterways.
The proposal sets a new
intermediary deadline of 2040 to
advance the completion of major parts
of the core network ahead of the 2050
deadline that applies to the wider,
comprehensive network. There are
calls for new high-speed rail
connections, including between Porto
and Vigo, and Budapest and Bucharest,
to be completed by 2040.
European Union Agency for Railways
(ERA) to become a one-stop shop for
railway vehicle authorisations and
ERTMS trackside authorisations under
the technical pillar is one: ERA has
authorised more than 30,000 vehicles,
more than 60 safety certificates and two
ETCS trackside approval applications
since June 2019. Critically, the vehicle
authorisations are proving considerably
faster and cheaper than the previous
€300,000 estimated cost of authorising a
new locomotive in some European
countries, a process that could take up
to a year or more.
Progress with instituting the reforms
introduced under the package’s marker
pillar is, however, slow.
The EU believes that opening the
market to competition is the best way to
raise the standard of passenger rail
services and to optimise the offer to the
customer. This has largely proven to be
correct in areas where this has
happened - Germany’s regional
concessions market springs to mind,
although this is far from perfect, as
Abellio and Keolis have found in recent
months (p16). Italian high-speed open-
access operator NTV is also credited for
helping to grow the overall market in
the country and there are similar hopes
All 424 major cities along the TEN-T
network must also develop Sustainable
Urban Mobility Plans to promote zero-
emission mobility and to increase and
improve public transport and
infrastructure for walking and cycling.
The EC also announced several
proposed revisions to the European
Urban Mobility Framework, which sets
out guidance on how cities can cut
emissions and improve mobility. The
plan prioritises zero-emission solutions
for urban fleets, including taxis and
ride-hailing services, the last mile of
urban deliveries, and the construction
and modernisation of multimodal
hubs, as well as new digital solutions
and services. The proposal maps out
the funding options for local and
regional authorities. The commission
will propose a recommendation to EU
member states to develop national
plans that will support cities to
implement their mobility plans.
In addition, the EC launched a
consultation to alter the state aid rules
for rail on December 23 (p8) and on
optimum strategies for greening and
digitising transport networks,
including rail, last month.
 Europe | policy
FlixTrain told IRJ that it was quoted
Table 1: Recovery and Resilience Plan allocation by EU country more than €20/km for the routes it
Country Recovery and Resilience Sustainable mobility Rail’s share (€m) proposed. These included links from
Plan total (€m) grants/loans share (€m) Paris Austerlitz to Bordeaux St-Jean via
Austria 3500 846.6 543 Les Aubrais-Orléans and Angoulême,
Paris Bercy - Limoges - Toulouse
Belgium 5900 920 528
Matabiau, and an overnight service
Bulgaria (requested) 6600 611 between Paris Bercy and Nice Ville via
Croatia 6300 728 309 Marseille Blancarde. On Paris Bercy -
Czech Republic 7000 1100 943
Dijon - Lyon Perrache, as well as the
French section of the Paris Nord -
Estonia 963.3 96 91 Brussels Nord route, the cost was more
Finland 2100 85 than e30/km.
France 39,400 7000 5000 FlixTrain was set to go head-to-head
with French National Railways (SNCF)
Germany 25,600 2500 682
on these routes. Yet it would have been
Greece 17,800/12,700 235 far from a fair and open competition.
Hungary (requested) 7200 1500 SNCF is the public service obligation
(PSO) operator in France, meaning the
Ireland 989 164 164
cost of the access fees for any route
Italy 68,900/122,600 32,100 29,400 deemed PSO are refunded by the
Latvia 1800 295 237.5 taxpayer. SNCF is also the infrastructure
Lithuania 2200 341 73.5
manager, the recipient of the track access
fees, meaning there is no incentive to
Poland (requested) 23,900/12,100 4500
run these services commercially itself or
Portugal 13,900/2700 967 853 to encourage others to do so.
Romania 14,200/14,900 6000 5000
Slovakia 6300 712 610 Rolling stock
Slovenia 1800/1300 311 292 New entrants also face the challenge
Spain 69,500 13,200 6400 of securing access to certified rolling
stock. AllRail, which represents
Sweden (requested) 3200 148
European new entrants, accuses SNCF
Total 495,352.30 58,205 of silently scrapping some older high-
speed trains over allowing access to
for Spain as new entrants begin to According to figures presented by prospective competitors. Without state
compete with Renfe. EC’s seventh Rail Market Monitoring guarantees, new entrants are also
Following various requests for delays (RMM) report published in January unable to gain the same favourable
from member states, the EC set a 2021, the average cost for track access financing agreements for new trains as
deadline of 2023 for the start of charges for EU countries in 2018 was the incumbents. Austria’s Westbahn
competitive tenders for public service typically just a few euros: in Germany it chose to sell its original fleet of trains in
obligation contracts as outlined in the is €0.67/km on suburban and regional 2019 to buy a new fleet under much
Fourth Railway Package. However, trains and €1.12/km on conventional improved terms.
with the deadline looming, several long-distance. This appears entirely In Germany, FlixTrain is reportedly
countries have backloaded contract reasonable. However, these costs do not paying €12/km after mark ups. And
awards to operate core networks to include markups, which in some despite some attempts by the private
state incumbents without inviting member states are substantially operator and its predecessors to break
others to bid. The Belgian government inflating the figure an operator might German Rail’s (DB) hegemony, DB still
plans to award Belgian National end up paying. Markups are calculated retains a 99% long-distance market
Railways (SNCB) a 10-year direct award from anything impacting the share. As well as the cost of operation,
contract to operate national services competitiveness of the service. This prospective new entrants face an
effectively preventing competitors from ranges from the speed of and type of arduous battle over securing suitable
entering the market until 2032. train, the level of connectivity, and the paths for their trains, a costly process
Netherlands Railways (NS) is also distance and time of day the service will that can take years to complete,
expected to be directly awarded a operate at, to the service’s priority and potentially putting all but the most
15-year concession to operate the purpose, and whether it is an urban or determined off.
country’s core network from 2024 after inter-urban service. Like SNCF, Italian State Railways (FS)
the government deemed tendering the FlixTrain halted plans to introduce and Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB),
operation “as too risky and complex.” five inter-city services in France DB remains an integrated railway. The
Italy has awarded similar lengthy indefinitely in April 2020, citing high same company competing with
regional contracts to Trenitalia. access fees as the reason for the U-turn. FlixTrain in the long-distance market is
In other areas, the ludicrously high While figures from RMM show that collecting the access charges and
cost of accessing infrastructure is suburban and regional services are allocating paths.
pricing prospective open-access charged €2.84/km, conventional long The new German government has
competitors to the state incumbent out distance €3.27/km and high-speed vowed to address the situation and
of the market. ¬ €4.77/km in France before mark-ups, proposes an internal restructuring,
20 IRJ February 2022
including the establishment of a new
infrastructure division, a move
welcomed by Mofair, which represents
new entrants in the German market. Mofair
prefers marginal access fee costs and
the transfer of the railway infrastructure
responsibility to a separate limited
company. DB Energy would be
unbundled from this company while
DB itself would focus solely on
commercial activities. Mofair says it has
aligned its demands with the coalition
agreement. Whether the government
has the stomach to follow through with
this pledge remains to be seen.
In Austria, the track access cost is
more modest at €4/km. However, due
to markups this cost doubles for cross-
border traffic. Cross-border journeys
account for just 7% of total
passenger-km in the EU. Higher costs
and the need for operators to comply
with varying and often arduous
national rules limits the incentive to
introduce such services even where
there is a market.
These are proving particularly
restrictive to the development of rail
freight services on the continent; while
it is acceptable to run a 740m-long
freight train in Germany, this is not
possible when this train wants to cross
the border into Austria. Equally a
European lorry driver may only speak
Mandarin, but a train driver must be
fluent in the language of the country in
which their train is operating, resulting
in stops at borders to change drivers,
potentially jeopardising path allocation.
Sources suggest that major European
shippers are keen to use rail, but these
limitations mean that the available
service is too unpredictable, putting
relationships with customers expecting
Flixtrain has often cited high track access charges as a barrier to introducing inter-city services,
especially in France. Photo: Shutterstock/Tommy Alven
IRJ February 2022 21
timely deliveries at risk. Money is
available to develop terminals and
improve the efficiency of transferring
freight to rail. But the potential of these
investments, and achieving the EC’s
goals for modal shift, will not be
realised until these regulatory
constraints are eradicated.
Reason for optimism
The Action Plan does provide reason
for optimism. It seeks to assist
regulatory bodies and operators to
overcome the key obstacles to operating
more cross-border services. A tender
calling for a request for proposals for
the inaugural pilot on the Munich -
Verona corridor was launched on
January 19 and lists 15 issues for which
the pilot should seek solutions to
provide the conditions for seamless
operation. Most of these relate to
discrepancies in national rules between
member states. These include installing
a common language requirement for the
route, upgrading infrastructure where
necessary to support longer freight
trains, and aligning safety standards.
One suggestion pushed by MEPs is to
allow EU governance to oversee the
TEN-T corridors. However, member
states and their railways have fiercely
resisted, helping to preserve the status
quo. Sources in the EU have described
the situation as trench warfare. They
say any resolution is met with a flurry
of requests for exemptions from various
states. The fact that a Fifth Railway
Package is likely, with work reportedly
beginning on this process, emphasises
the challenges that remain.
The situation looks even more
troubling when compared with road.
While discussions on rail policies
seemingly go round in circles resulting
in ambitious targets being pushed or
scaled back, the road sector is on the
cusp of totally reinventing itself within
the next 15 years. The first automated
electric vehicles (EV) are likely to hit
Europe’s roads by 2030 and there
appears to be huge momentum behind
the development of EVs. Unfortunately,
as it stands, Europe’s railways will
probably still be squabbling over rolling
out ERTMS on the core network at the
end of this decade. There would be little
surprise if the revised 2040 delivery
target is missed.
Things clearly need to change if rail
traffic is to grow to the level required
by the EU. But there is still time to turn
the situation around.
For market access, Sweden could
provide a model for other countries to
follow. Here the mark ups on track
access are less severe and there is an
amendable process for securing slots, as
reflected in FlixTrain’s relatively swift
establishment of a service between
Stockholm and Gothenburg/Malmö in
2020. Encouragingly a study of the
Swedish market by the Swedish
National Road and Transport Research
Institute estimates that an average
charge of e2/km would be sufficient to
cover the cost of maintaining rail
infrastructure.
Similar conclusions might be found in
studies of other European networks.
This raises the proposition of finding a
happy medium: of setting fees at a level
that covers the cost of maintenance and
future investment while remaining
commercially attractive to prospective
operators. However, this is only
possible if there is a definitive split
between infrastructure and operations.
The EU also arguably needs to look at
itself and forcefully impose the rules
and regulations to which the member
states have signed up, including the
Fourth Railway Package. To do so will
require strong leadership at the
commission. Unfortunately, the last few
transport commissioners have lacked
the gusto to take on the big railways.
But if they choose to go down the rabbit
hole and really enforce the regulations
and hand out meaningful fines and
even restrictions on operation, the
chances are that a DB or an SNCF will
relent. If one falls into line, the others
are likely to follow.
The European Year of Rail offered
much to celebrate. It also provided a
timely reminder of the challenges facing
modal shift to rail in 2021 and in the
years ahead. IRJ
 Europe | Italy
Rail drives Italy’s Covid-19 recovery
Italy is planning significant investment in rail over the next five years as it plots its recovery from the Covid-
19 pandemic. David Burroughs and Marco Chiandoni explain what is included in the plans.
T
HE Covid-19 pandemic hit the
Italian economy harder than
many of its European neighbours,
with Italy’s GDP dropping 8.9%
compared with the average European
Union (EU) decrease of 6.2%. The
country is still suffering one of the
worst death tolls in Europe.
In response to the economic carnage
reaped by the pandemic, the EU launched
the Next Generation EU (NGEU)
programme of reforms and investments
which aims to encourage economic
recovery while speeding up an
environmental and digital transition,
improving on-the-job training for
workers with a view of reducing
territorial, generational and gender
gaps. Italy is the first recipient of the
NGEU’s two principal levers: the
Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF)
22
and Recovery Assistance for Cohesion
and the Territories of Europe (React-EU).
To receive the funding, the EU
member states must present a reform
and investment package, the National
Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR),
which meets six missions:
1. digitalisation, innovation, competitiveness,
culture and tourism
2. green revolution and ecological
transition
3. infrastructure for sustainable mobility
4. education and research
5. cohesion and inclusion, and
6. health.
Italy’s allocation from the RRF is
€191.5bn, which must be invested
between 2021 and 2026. The funding is
made up of €68.9bn in grants and
€122.6bn as loans with 40% of the total
set to be invested in the south of the
country to achieve the territorial
cohesion objectives.
Italy will invest €32.1bn in
sustainable transport, mostly through
Mission 3, to integrate more regions
into the high-speed rail network,
complete the rail freight corridors, and
boost sustainable local transport
through the extension of cycle lanes,
metros, light rail and zero-emission
buses. This includes the construction of
electric charging stations across the
country and hydrogen refuelling points
for road and rail transport. Out of the
sustainable mobility funding, rail
related investments amount to €29.4bn.
Mission three is divided into two
components. The first component aims
to develop the Italian rail network by
completing the main high-speed and
high-capacity lines both in the north
and the south of the country,
completing the TEN-T core network
corridors and integrating them with the
regional rail network, enhancing the
safety and efficiency of the entire rail
network, and strengthening connections
to key towns and cities, including
modernising several major stations.
The second component sets a number
of reforms to make intermodality and
integrated logistics more competitive
and to simplify the implementation of
projects in Italian ports through the
updating of port planning and the
competitive allocation of concessions.
Investment projects
The plan aims to support the modal
shift from road, which accounts for the
greatest share of transport’s greenhouse
gas emissions. The investments in rail
include multiple individual projects,
which are combined into eight
programmes:
• high-speed freight and passenger
connections to southern Italy (Naples -
Bari, Palermo - Catania - Messina in
Sicily and the realisation of the first
functional lots of the Salerno - Reggio
Calabria high-speed line)
• high-speed lines in northern Italy
connecting to Europe (completion of
Milan - Venice and the Terzo Valico
project north of Genoa)
• lateral cross-country connections
(Rome - Pescara and Orte - Falconara)
• implementation of ERTMS on the
entire network
• strengthening of key metropolitan
and national junctions
• upgrading regional lines to national
technical standards
• upgrading and electrifying lines in
southern Italy, and
• improving stations in southern Italy.
Specifically, the plan envisages a
€3.6bn investment on the Brescia -
Verona - Padua line and a €3.97bn
investment on the Liguria - Alps line,
together with an enhanced key
connection to the new Brenner base
tunnel. The RRF will add €3bn to the
€10bn that Italy intends to devote to
strengthening stations and key national
links.
A €4.8bn investment on the Naples -
Bari/Palermo axis will also allow the
A number of existing Italian high-speed projects will benefit
from the EU funding windfall. Photo: David Gubler
completion of the Scandinavia -
Mediterranean freight corridor,
facilitating connections with the
important port of Gioia Tauro and
anchor Puglia and Calabria into the
existing high-speed network between
Naples and Milan/Venice/Turin.
Work to improve rail freight and
passenger rail links to the south include
the completion of the Naples - Bari
high-speed/high-capacity line, which is
divided into several sub-projects:
• construction of a 15.5km alternative
to the current Naples - Cancello line,
passing through Naples Afragola high-
speed station
• track-doubling and line speed
increases on the historic 46km section
between Cancello, Frasso Telesino and
Vitulano, with Frasso Telesino - Telese
to be completed in 2025 while Telese -
Vitulano will be completed in 2026; 25
level crossings will also be removed
• track-doubling around 47km of the
Apice - Orsara line, 80% of which is in
tunnels, with the construction of the
new Hirpinia station, and
• track-doubling a section of the Orsara -
Bovino line.
23
 Europe | Italy
There are also plans to upgrade
Naples and Bari stations, including the
installation of modern traffic management
systems such as computer-based
interlocking (ACC) and multi-station
computer-based interlocking (ACCM).
The Naples - Benevento - Apice line
will be upgraded to support 22.5-tonne
axleloads and to support 750m-long
trains transporting lorry trailers.
Capacity will also be increased from
four trains per hour per direction to 10
trains per hour per direction.
ERTMS
The PNRR envisages installing
ERTMS Level 2 on approximately
3400km of line at a cost of €3bn,
including 1377km in 2022-2024 and
another 2023km in 2025-26. The work
foresees the decommissioning of Italy’s
existing legacy SCMT signalling system
and the progressive equipping of 5000
vehicles with ERTMS.
Italian Rail Network (RFI) is already
pushing ahead with the PNRR projects
as it aims to equip the entire 16,800km
main line network with ERTMS by
2036. In January, RFI issued a tender
worth €2.77bn to install ETCS Level 2
equipment on 3400km of mainline
railway infrastructure by 2026. The
contract is divided into four lots worth
€1.3bn (Centro Nord), €900m (Centro
Sud), €323m (Centro), and €251m (Sud).
The funding includes support for the construction of high-speed lines in northern Italy, including
the under-construction Terzo Valico project north of Genoa. Photo: Webuild
24 IRJ February 2022
RFI also issued a tender worth
€757.48m for civil works to replace
level crossings in 14 regions across the
country last month. The works are
worth €715.58m, the executive design
€41.9m and the safety charges €34.2m.
The tender includes 23 lots in Piedmont,
Liguria, Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia
Romagna, Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio,
Marche, Campania, Apulia, Molise,
Calabria and Sicily. The most expensive
lots are in Sicily, with one valued at
€72.6m and another at €66.8m.
“
Italian Rail Network is already pushing ahead with the
PNRR projects as it aims to equip the entire 16,800km
main line network with ERTMS by 2036.
As part of the plans to complete high-
speed lines in the north to improve
connections with neighbouring
countries, Italy will continue with
construction of the Brescia - Verona line
to extend the high-speed/high-capacity
system along the horizontal Turin -
Venice axis as part of the TEN-T
Mediterranean Corridor that connects the
Iberian Peninsula with the Ukrainian
border.
The first functional lot, Brescia - Verona
East, excluding Verona west junction,
involves the construction of a new
47.6km high-speed/high-capacity line
in the Lombardy and Veneto regions.
The second lot involves quadrupling
the 10.7km line from Brescia station to
Brescia east junction by 2026 in the
municipalities of Brescia, Rezzato and
Mazzano to improve both the high-
speed and conventional lines.
The plan also envisages reforms and
investments to boost regional lines. The
regions will be provided with financial
incentives to invite tenders for public
service contracts to operate regional
lines. Some €3bn will be invested in
regional railways in the south, notably
in stations and electrification.
Complementary investments will also
be made in zero-emission traction
including electrification and hydrogen,
including purchasing trains and
installing nine hydrogen refuelling
stations.
RFI and the Italian government are
currently finalising the 2022-26 Planning
Agreement, which includes e109.2bn in
funding from various sources including
the recovery, complementary, national
and EU funds. Another €54.5bn is
needed to fund the entire plan.
Minister of infrastructure and sustainable
mobility, Mr Enrico Giovannini,
presented the “Strategic paper on
railway mobility” in December, a list of
feasibility studies for 52 new interventions.
This includes 31 feasibility designs that
have already been started after being
included in the PNRR.
Italy’s allocation to the rail sector
from the NGEU is comparatively much
higher than neighbouring EU countries -
Germany is allocating just €682m and
France €5bn (p18). This funding should
go a long way to completing its
infrastructure contributions to the
Single European Railway Area and
achieve its objectives of promoting
modal shift. IRJ
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 Signalling | Russia

A Train Control
revolution
Technology developed by LocoTech-Signal is helping to revolutionise train operation in Russia.
Andrey Romanchikov, managing director for Intelligent Control Systems Development at TMH and CEO of
LocoTech-Signal, explains the company’s activities to Kevin Smith.

T
HE ability of automatic and
semi-automatic trains to run
closer together and unlock line
capacity is prompting railways and
research institutes around the world to
explore technologies and processes that
replace tasks traditionally undertaken
by the driver.
Russia is no exception and in many
areas is leading the charge. Russian
Railways (RZD) is planning to operate
Lastochka EMUs using automatic train
operation (ATO) at Grade of Automation
4 (GoA 4) in commercial service on the
Moscow Central Circle network later
this year following more than 7000km
of tests at GoA 3 (p12). TMH also
announced at the end of December that
630 3ES5K locomotives built for the
Russian market are now equipped with
virtual coupling technology, which
could facilitate future convoying of
freight trains in Russia, potentially
reducing existing headways from 4-5km
to 2-3km, offering a dramatic increase
in line capacity.
The technologies at the heart of
virtual coupling are supplied by TMH
subsidiary AVP Technology, part of
LocoTech-Signal. For Mr Andrey
Romanchikov, managing director,
intelligent control systems
development, at TMH and CEO of
LocoTech-Signal, the company’s work is
indicative of a growing trend: for trains
and locomotives to become smart assets
that respond autonomously to the
conditions around them rather than
relying on a driver to react to prompts

Extensive tests of virtual coupling technology have

been conducted on the Scherbinka test circuit just
outside Moscow. Photo: TMH

26
provided by traditional lineside or cab
signalling.
LocoTech-Signal was founded in
2017 but TMH’s work on automation
goes back more than 20 years
according to Romanchikov. TMH’s
ATO solution offers precise and
tailored driving and braking curves
depending on operating conditions,
infrastructure limitations, as well as the
performance characteristics of the train.
Depending on application conditions,
the technology can function as a driver
advisory system (DAS) or ATO. The
system provides an optimal driving
strategy and in ATO mode controls
acceleration and braking of the
locomotive to optimise performance,
effectively reducing the role of the
driver to an “algorithm” which
monitors the system.
This equipment is already fitted to
more than 6000 locomotives operating
across Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus,
and Russian Railways (RZD) is now
engaged in a programme to fit the
technology to 500-600 locomotives
every year. Romanchikov says the
system is helping to reduce fuel and
energy consumption by 8% and
working to traffic schedules with an
accuracy of up to 1 minute, improving
the efficiency of network operation. In
addition, it is configured to respond
and operate in various weather
conditions which can impact
performance, and is certified to function
at up -50oC.
Earlier generations of TMH’s ATO
system offer semi-automatic operation
on open main lines, with drivers
responsible for controlling deceleration
and acceleration in station areas.
Romanchikov says this remains the
greatest source of disruption and
unpredictability to operation. He
reveals that a pilot is due to commence
this year under which locomotives will
enter and leave stations autonomously,
effectively the development of ATO at
GoA 2.
As well as supporting operation,
TMH’s driving optimisation and ATO
solutions are the foundation of virtual
“
In Russia, like in many other countries, investing in new
tracks to increase capacity is very expensive. This is why
RZD has started to invest in this technology. They really
believe in what we’re doing. Andrey Romanchikov
coupling. At its heart lies a deep
integration between ATO and the Train
Control Management System (TCMS) as
well as point-to-point communications
system between two virtually coupled
trains. The two trains communicate
location data, running parameters and
their respective masses in real-time with
the allowable distance between the two
trains calculated according to the
specific operating situation, the train’s
speed and mass, track characteristics
and other factors impacting braking
distance. The trailing locomotive
automatically responds to the driving
actions of the lead unit, meaning it is
possible to operate at reduced
headways because the safety margin is
less. Crucially, no additional wayside
infrastructure is required, only the
upgraded ATO, ATP and TCMS
software, and the radio-communication
module. The P2P network uses Russia’s
existing 160MHz train-to-train
communications frequency to exchange
information between the locomotives.
Romanchikov says TMH has
conducted extensive tests of the virtual
coupling technology, concluding a four-
year testing cycle in spring 2020. Tests
in Russia’s Eastern Range where more
than 100 train pairs operate per day
increased the capacity of the section by
15%. He says these tests showed that it
could be possible to convoy up to five
trains using the virtual coupling system
and that the P2P communication
network can work reliably up to a
distance of 8km between trains.
“In Russia, like in many other
countries, investing in new tracks to
increase capacity is very expensive,” he
says. “This is why RZD has started to
invest in this technology. They really
believe in what we’re doing.”
Standard technology
The technology is now installed as
standard on all new 3ES5K units, with
136 of these locomotives built in 2021.
Another 500 existing units have been
retrofitted with the technology and
Romanchikov expects a steady
retrofitting of the RZD fleet over the
coming years with significant potential
to increase the capacity of westbound
traffic from Siberia to ports and
industrial facilities in the west. He
foresees no interoperability issues with
locomotives built by other manufacturers,
stating that TMH is working with Wabtec
and Alstom’s plants in Kazakhstan on
using several products on their
locomotives. “It does not depend on
TMH,” he says. “We are talking about
TMH because this is part of TMH’s
strategy, but it should be adapted for
other locomotives, and interface with
their braking and control systems.”
Romanchikov says further
developments of ATO include
providing diagnostics information for
the locomotive and infrastructure. Data
from the locomotive’s systems and
components are sent to centralised
servers for processing. “Our idea and
the idea of our customers is to use this
27
 Signalling | Russia
data to support more efficient
maintenance,” Romanchikov says. “If
you know in advance what exactly is
happening with the train, you can make
your maintenance plans a lot more
efficient.”
The next step in the virtual coupling
and ATO story is evolving the train-to-
train communication capability to such
an extent that traditional track circuits
and axle counters become redundant.
Indeed, LocoTech-Signal is developing
its CTRL@LOCK 400 computer-based
interlocking system to control points,
signals, and other objects necessary for
safe railway operation and effective
infrastructure monitoring. Romanchikov
says there are numerous challenges in
this regard, not least calculating the
precise position of the train as safely as
possible. Functions such as operating
switches could be controlled by the
train but this will require significant
work to prove that operation is safe.
Romanchikov is optimistic that this
work will produce results and
potentially a revolution in railway
operation, offering 2024 as a realistic
date for a pilot project. He adds that as
well as Russia, LocoTech-Signal could
potentially target the other markets and
areas where lineside equipment has
proven vulnerable to theft and vandalism.
Computer vision technology is set to
play a key part in this transition by
enabling trains to respond quickly to
distant objects and anomalous
situations up the track, which may
cause a safety issue and disrupt
operation. LocoTech-Signal’s CTRL@
Vision 100 system comprises various
sensors, radar and lidar technologies
and thermal viewers and is used to
detect obstacles, monitor the surrounding
Virtual Coupling Virtual Coupling
6 min
The system allows trains to operate closer together compared with using conventional signalling.
Braking curve in ATO mode
Minimizing of a headway between trains up to 4-8 min
The system can reduce headways between trains by four to eight minutes.
28 IRJ February 2022
JRU (Juridical Recording Unit)
VIPNET
Processing unit
CAN250
CAN500
Wireless communication Data connection and
modem POPС GSM transition block
inside of Virtual
Coupling system
The architecture of the system installed onboard the locomotive.
1
area in real-time, remotely control
rolling stock and analyse signals and
point positions.
Romanchikov says tests of the
obstacle detection capability on EMUs
have already proven reliable at 600m on
straight line sections, more than three
times more effective than a driver on a
clear day. Tests on a shunting
locomotive have similarly been proven
at up to 100m in curves.
Machine learning
Machine learning techniques are the
foundation of computer vision. By
learning to recognise objects and
anomalies they gradually offer an
appropriate response to different
scenarios, learning to ignore some and
alter the train’s behaviour to others. As
well as safety applications for rolling
stock operation, Romanchikov says
computer vision is also set to assist
railways to monitor infrastructure,
helping to effectively identify defects to
Virtual Coupling
8 min
Allowed travel speed
Wireless modem
between locomotives
TCMS desk with driver’s
information interface
160 МГЦ
RS485
CAN
ETHERNET
TCMS (Train Control and
Management System)
track or electrification infrastructure,
and to target maintenance and repair
activities. Thirdly, he says it could
facilitate remote control for shunting
locomotives, another field where
LocoTech-Signal is active. “One
operator could control up to five
operating locomotives using machine
vision,” he says
Again, Romanchikov reveals that
several pilots with this technology are
underway, including with private
Russian infrastructure owner
Cherepovets Steel Mill, which is held by
PAO Severstal, one of the world’s
largest steel companies. Tests of the
remote-control technology are also
taking place with TMH’s latest shunting
locomotives while CTRL@Vision is
being rolled out on the Kazan metro to
support the introduction of a driverless
network but without the traditional
features such as platform screen doors.
Romanchikov says the biggest
challenge facing main line deployment
at this point is securing the sophisticated
Virtual Coupling
6 min
speed
and expensive camera equipment
although the costs are falling each year.
It is also not an off the shelf product
that can be brought over from other
industries, further complicating the
situation. “Your success here depends
on how much you teach your software
based on real railway data,” he says.
we will reach a situation where each
locomotive produced by TMH will be
equipped with lidar, cameras and radar.
It will be like a modern car which is not
possible to buy now without this
equipment installed.”
As for any company working at the
cutting edge of technology, LocoTech-
enthused and inspired to work on the
company’s projects.
Likewise, LocoTech-Signal continues
to invest in research and development
projects that will continue to push the
company forward. “If we see a request
from a customer or if we feel a certain
project could provide more efficiency to
a customer, we will invest in this

“
technology, in new teams, and in new
labs,” Romanchikov says.
My prediction is that in a few years we will reach a He adds that a new initiative is
engaging start-up companies to work
situation where each locomotive produced by TMH will with LocoTech-Signal similar to other
be equipped with lidar, cameras and radar. It will be like programmes undertaken by railways
and suppliers around the world. A new
a modern car which is not possible to buy now without company, TMH Advance Technology
Center, has been founded within TMH
this equipment installed. Andrey Romanchikov to nurture the ideas from these start-
ups, which can vary from ideas
produced by one or two entrepreneurs
“This is why we started on this several Signal faces a challenge with securing to solutions presented by already
years ago. We gave our IT companies and nurturing talent to deliver the level established firms. Indeed, Romanchikov
access to the real railway data and they of innovation it requires. Romanchikov and LocoTech-Signal intend to explore
used our software. We have a good describes people as the company’s most all avenues to achieve their vision for
relationship with our customers. We important investment, but its difficulties autonomous railway operation. They
also work at TMH plants where tracks are not unlike major tech firms such as have made admirable progress, which
are installed so we can simulate Google. He says the company is is already producing efficiency savings
different situations. populated with professionals with an for Russian railways, with more
“My prediction is that in a few years average age of 25 to 26 who are expected in the coming years. IRJ

IRJ February 2022 29
 Signalling | ATO
How a digital revolution
could save Czech regional
ATO has the potential to transform regional rail in the Czech Republic, potentially saving some lines from
closure. Richard Clinnick meets AZD Praha officials to find out more.
T
HE operation of autonomous
passenger trains in the Czech
Republic came a step close to
reality in December following a public
demonstration of a driverless train by
AZD Praha on its 38km Plum Railway
between Cízkovice and Most.
The Czech signalling developer and
supplier bought the railway - given its
name due to the fruit trees that once
grew beside it - in 2016 to undertake
research and development of new
technology without interrupting
commercial services on the main line
(IRJ June 2020).
Those on board the train, and at the
lineside, were able to witness the single-
car DMU stop at a crossing that had
been blocked by a broken car without
any intervention from onboard staff.
As the DMU approached the crossing,
the lidar laser systems fitted to the train
detected the broken car. The train
automatically blew its horn, but,
because the car did not move, the DMU
stopped without any driver
intervention. The train did not depart
and instead waited for consent from the
dispatcher in the centre in Lovosice
who was able to check the situation
remotely via cameras fitted to the train.
30 IRJ February 2022
railways
AZD Praha performed a demonstration of GoA 4 operation
on the Plum Railway in December. Photo: AZD
Only when consent was issued did the
train continue its journey.
AZD has been involved in Shift2Rail’s
development of Automatic Train
Operation (ATO). ATO at Grade of
Automation 2 (GoA 2) was tested in
2020 at three locations in Europe with
Shift2Rail partners, and prior to the
pandemic there were plans to test ATO
at GoA 3 and 4 ahead of a presentation
of the project at InnoTrans, which was
due to be held in September 2020. This
was cancelled due to the outbreak of
Covid-19, and these tests finally took
place in December.
AZD’s long-term aim is to demonstrate
the safety of autonomous operation,
which it says can be used on branch
lines and regional routes. It says deploying
the technology will reduce cancellations
on these railways as well as boost the
industry’s environmental credentials.
AZD CEO, Mr Zdenek Chrdle, says
that the company “definitely does not
want to work with a black-and-white
vision of replacing drivers, but with a
modern vision of operation, where
professional staff are still required to
carry out a number of key tasks.”
Speaking to IRJ on January 17, he
suggested that while trains can operate
autonomously on-board staff should be
able to help passengers board and
disembark from trains, be available to
sell tickets and provide general
assistance. Yet, if required, they could
still undertake safety-critical duties.
AZD suggests that this method of
operation could also reduce costs and
increase efficiency. Chrdle tells IRJ that
the railway’s competitive edge in the
Czech Republic’s regions is not great,
with buses replacing services on some
lines. He highlights a situation where
buses replaced trains on 12 lines in the
Central-Bohemian region before
Christmas. He argues that introducing
automatic operation would eliminate
this scenario.
“Considerable attention is also paid
to the issue of ensuring safe interaction
of automated railways with road
transport,” Chrdle says. This includes
using the cooperative ITS systems and
the results of the C-Roads project,
which allows road vehicles to
communicate with each other and
infrastructure, including railway
infrastructure such as level crossings.
The C-Roads project is Europe-wide
and seeks to develop an intelligent
system that will improve road safety by
using data from road vehicles allowing
them to communicate with each other
and surrounding infrastructure.
Legislation is hindering the transition
to a fully automated railway, according
to Chrdle. The Czech government
wants to introduce ETCS, including on
regional lines, but he says not every
operator has the resources to introduce
the technology on its fleet. “Unless we,
or somebody, does something, then the
regional lines will be closed,” he
suggests.
AZD claims it can solve not only
technical challenges but also legislative
issues, both at a national level and in
cooperation with European partners
and institutions. Relationships already
exist with members of the Unisig
consortium including Alstom, CAF,
Siemens and with Thales and Kontron
who all attended the public demonstration
in December, as well as Czech research
centres including the Czech Technical
University in Prague, the University of
West Bohemia in Pilsen, Brno University
of Technology and the University of
Zilina.
More testing
Testing of the automated technology
is moving to a second line acquired by
AZD, the 22km Kopidlno - Dolní
Bousov line. This is currently being
upgraded ready for the testing to begin.
Chrdle expects autonomous operation
to begin within two to three years once
legislative hurdles have been cleared.
Until then AZD will use its own
infrastructure to prove the safety,
reliability and efficiency of the technology.
He says work is underway to install
the communication part of the system
on the line based on GSM-R and 5G
The single-car DMU stopped at a crossing that had been blocked by a broken car, which was
detected by the onboard lidar laser systems. Photo: AZD
IRJ February 2022 31
telecommunications as a new project.
“We will install the electronic
interlocking as our standard product,
and we installed our trackside part of
ETCS and prepared technology for level
crossings,” he says. Diagnostic systems
will be installed to support not only the
operation of the train but to also
provide updates on the condition of the
track via sensors, which Mr Antonín
Divis, AZD deputy director for R&D,
says will offer a higher level of safety.
Initially the aim is to use technology
already available on the market, but
Divis says AZD plans to develop its
own control and diagnostic support
systems that retrieve the data, and
convert it to usable information.
Chrdle says that while AZD may own
its own lines, the connections with main
lines remain state-owned and so
cooperation with SZ, the national
infrastructure manager, is required to
expand the reach of these autonomous
technologies. Discussions began on
January 13 regarding the possibility of
the autonomous operation.
“Our intention is that for the next two
years we will test systems on our line,
and that in 2025 the autonomously-
operated train will be able to operate
amongst other trains operating either
through manual or autonomous
operation,” he says.
Divis says various degrees of
automation have been in use in the
Czech Republic since the 1980s, but it is
only based on static data and data
working independently on every train.
The initial challenge for AZD is to
develop the infrastructure that allows
existing systems to send dynamic data
of the location of every train to trace the
journey profile.
AZD European affairs director, Mr
Vladimir Kampík, says that the
company’s strategy is to support the
infrastructure manager as much as
possible. There needs to be an increased
level of ETCS equipment installed at
trackside, which should be the
responsibility of the infrastructure
manager he says. Most of that
technology installed is Level 2 says
Divis and this means that once that is
installed it is very easy to install ATO.
As part of the planned testing
programme on its own railway, AZD is
working on a strategy that would also
include the wider use of GoA 3 and
even GoA 4. However this remains in
the developmental stage, but any
demonstration will include operations
between eight stations.
Future of automation
AZD believes that there is the
opportunity to develop automation by
prioritising certain areas for development
at differing GoA depending on
demand. For example, Divis says short
branch lines are ideal for full
automation due to the low passenger
numbers. On some corridors on the
main network he expects the driver to
remain, with GoA 2 or 3 preferred.
Chrdle makes the case that autonomous
operation will reduce the need for
personnel, increase safety, possibly
increase the number of trains and
improve punctuality. “This is why we
are doing this,” Chrdle says. “We are
trying to influence the future to avoid
closures.”
Chrdle argues that automation is not
just an opportunity for railways in the
Czech Republic but every country in
Europe. He advocates a switch from
speaking about the solutions to putting
plans in place, He also believes that the
European Union should increase the
pressure on the Czech government to
act due to the benefits on offer.
Unfortunately, he says the government
is not yet moving in the same direction
as the EU.
The delayed trial is the latest step in a
journey that could eventually
revolutionise Czech railway. But Chrdle
is adamant there needs to be support
from politicians and authorities to
expand this opportunity more widely.
The technology is available, and work is
continuing to take it to the next level.
“The challenge is whether there is
real support, and not only spoken
support for the railway operation as an
ecological mode of transport?” Chrdle
asks. “There must be the political will to
do this.” IRJ
 Signalling | train control

Atacs: the answer to more than just capacity concerns?

Atacs was first deployed on the Senseki Line from October

2011. Since then functions have been developed around
the use of level crossings. Photo: JR East

Changes to the way people are working, the ability to recruit staff and the need for a reliable service to
remain competitive is leading East Japan Railway to pursue technological advances in train control. Richard
Clinnick reports.

E
AST Japan Railway (JR East) is
facing several issues that need
addressing in the medium to long
term, including depopulation, changes
to the way people are working, a
decline in the number of passengers
travelling and a drop in the number of
the Senseki Line between Aobadori and
Higashi-Shiogama on the east coast of
Japan, there are plans to introduce the
system on two busy commuter lines in
Tokyo by 2031.
The radio-based train control system
a decade ago, the Senseki Line had
more than 200 trains per day operating
at five-minute headways. Each train
uses a tachometer generator to detect its
own speed, which it subsequently uses
to calculate the distance it has travelled

people wishing to work on the railway.
The Covid-19 pandemic has not helped
matters either. Business decisions have
to be made regarding the railway of the
future, and technology appears to be
the solution.
The railway says that it must make
the most of state-of-the-art technology
such as automation, radio transmission
and train control. There is a desire to
harmonise the operation system and
train control to offer a high-performance
service for passengers. Not only that,
but these solutions can also address
other issues facing JR East, including
staffing and costs associated with the
current infrastructure.
Just over a decade after JR East
introduced Advanced Train
Administration and Communication
System (Atacs) on an 18km section of
“
Four years after the introduction of Atacs in Sendai,
JR East was reporting reliability figures of 99.9999%,
with no recognition errors in either refreshing a train’s
location or switching between Atacs and Automatic
Train Protection.
has similar functions to those of to that point. This enables the train to
communications-based train control identify its exact location. Train distance
(CBTC) and the European Train Control control is based on a moving block
System (ETCS) Level 3. However, there signalling system whereby each train is
is no requirement for track circuits with constantly transmitting its exact
Atacs. Instead trains recognise their location information by radio to
own position. simplified ground facilities.
When Atacs was launched more than Those ground facilities use this

32 IRJ February 2022
information to create a Limit of
Movement Authority (LMA) for a train
at the point of the specified safety
margin from the rear of the preceding
train. The LMA of a following train
moves forward according to the
movement of the preceding trains. Any
following train will then calculate the
speed profile based on LMA data
transmitted from the ground facilities.
When the speed is greater than that
permitted, the train is automatically
decelerated.
Complementary functions feature on
the core Atacs technology. These
include an interlocking function
whereby the route is controlled by
computerised interlocking equipment.
A train protection function uses
emergency signals from level crossings
and station platforms to transmit
messages to trains by radio to enable
automatic braking. A fixed location
speed limit function is also included for The Saikyo Line in Tokyo was the second to be equipped with Atacs in 2017. Photo: JR East
when speed checking and automatic impressive. Four years after its the ATO system operating over existing
brake control is implemented according introduction in Sendai, JR East was ATC signalling, regulating speeds
to the speed limits in fixed locations reporting reliability figures of 99.9999%, between stations. Drivers remain
such as curves. Furthermore, the train with no recognition errors in either onboard the trains, opening and closing
speeds can be adjusted depending on refreshing a train’s location or switching doors and activating the ATO system.
circumstances such as poor weather. between Atacs and Automatic Train When this was launched, JR East said
One of the key features of Atacs is its Protection (ATP). experience gained from operation at
ability to create shorter headways, Grade of Automation 2 (GoA 2) would
therefore enabling more trains to inform future work to transition to
operate on one line without expensive Facilitating ATO driverless operation.
and invasive track enhancements. The Wider introduction of Atacs is In July last year, JR East launched the
introduction of Atacs also reduces, or designed to facilitate JR East’s Centre of Excellence for the Next
eliminates, the need for cabling, lineside expansion of automatic train operation Generation Mobility Systems project. In
signals and track circuits. The benefit (ATO), including a pilot launched on a this the railway confirms its aim to
here is the reduction, or in many cases 29.7km section of the Joban Line improve the stability of train operation
elimination, of maintenance costs between Ayase and Toride in March and attain flexible operation according
associated with lineside infrastructure. 2021. The equipment is fitted to series to passenger demand. JR East will
The system’s performance is E33 EMUs that operate on the line with achieve this through harmonising

IRJ February 2022 33
 Signalling | train control
Atacs, ATO and Autonomous
Decentralised Transport Operation
Control System (ATOS) and continue its
work to achieve driverless operation.
Furthermore, the launch of this
programme allows JR East to further
promote innovation on the Tokyo
metropolitan area rail network as part
of an ambition to improve its
sustainable development goal (SDG)
credentials and to help achieve a
“work-style reform” for employees
through technological innovation.
Using Atacs to control the trains will
help JR East conserve energy as
operation will become more consistent
due to the elimination of human error.
This will also protect the components
on the trains, which combined with the
lack of lineside equipment will help
reduce costs through the lack of repeat
maintenance.
Further Atacs deployment
JR East announced in early December
2021 that Atacs and high performance
ATO will be deployed next on the
Yamanote-loop Line and the Keihin-
Tohoku-Negishi Line sometime between
2028 and 2031. Preparations for the
introduction of ATO and driver-only
operation (DOO) will take place
between 2025 and 2030. JR says it is
Two more Tokyo suburban lines will be equipped with ATO over Atacs by 2030. One is the Yamanote-loop Line, which uses 220m-long trains
operating at headways of just over two minutes. Photo: JR East
34 IRJ February 2022
currently in the process of considering
the hardware and technical specifications
that will be required, and then it will
prepare to select manufacturers.
Hitachi is the existing supplier of
Atacs and ATOS control centre
equipment, transponders and radio
base stations, while Mitsubishi Electric
provides the on-board equipment.
The system will operate alongside
ATOS to achieve efficient train
operation, including delay recovery and
energy-saving methods. JR East also
aims to promote the development of
suitable technology to enable Grade of
Automation 3 (GoA 3) driverless
operation in the future. However, the
railway admits that will require the
construction of a system that can
respond immediately even in the event
of disruption.
JR East also plans to make the most of
the function that can predict and update
timetables in case of disruption. By
doing this, it will enable the creation of
a system that can operate efficiently
along the entire line, implementing
delay recovery and introducing energy-
saving operation by train group control.
The 50 120km/h E235 dc EMUs
operating on the 34.5km 90km/h
Yamanote-loop Line are 220m-long and
formed of 11 vehicles. These date from
2015. Current headways on the line are
2min 20s and 1.1 million passengers per
day were using the railway before the
pandemic. Meanwhile, on the 59.1km
90km/h Keihin-Tohoku - Negishi line,
the 200m-long E233 EMUs are formed
of 10 vehicles. Like the Yamanote-loop
Line, the headway is also 2min 20s. In
2015, this line had a daily ridership of
more than 2.97 million passengers.
Despite the use of Atacs elsewhere, JR
East told IRJ in December that there are
challenges that must be addressed.
Access to the railway is crucial, but
must be planned carefully. Currently
any testing or large construction that JR
East requires is conducted on the main
network rather than any test facility
during a three-hour window each night
when commercial services are not
operating. The alternative is suspending
the high-density timetable.
The railway also plans to install the
new software on as many vehicles as it
can in a short period of time. There are
concerns regarding the large amount of
data being sent from on board the trains
to the ground devices in a timely
manner that can enable the checking of
the software’s condition.
In an ever-changing industry, the
development of Atacs and its
implementation could well be the
answer to a number of issues affecting
railways, and not just capacity. IRJ
 Braking | adhesion

Variable rate sanding improves braking

Britain’s Rail Accident Investigation Branch identified low adhesion

as a major contributing factor in an accident between two DMUs
at a junction near Salisbury in October. Photo: Jack Boskett

Ben Altman and Sharon Odetunde with Britain’s Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), explain how
research into low rail adhesion during the autumn is leading to new approaches to solving this serious age-
old problem.

C
ONTAMINATION of the
railhead and wheelsets is caused
by a vast array of biological,
chemical and physical factors, some of
which cannot be easily monitored or
controlled. While railways are
predominately affected by low adhesion
during the autumn, they can encounter
low adhesion issues throughout the rest
of the year, for instance as a result of
moisture, diesel fuel or grease.
Low adhesion conditions can result in
safety incidents such as signals passed
at danger (Spad) and station overruns.
Contamination can also electrically
insulate the connection between the
wheel and track, and if track circuits are
used to detect the presence of trains this
can lead to wrong-side track circuit
failures.
The Rail Accident Investigation
Branch (RAIB) identified low adhesion
as a major contributory factor to a
recent accident when two DMUs
collided at a junction near Salisbury,
Britain, on October 31 2021 injuring one
of the drivers and 13 passengers.
Railways spend significant sums to
manage low adhesion issues in many
countries. According to the Rail Safety
and Standards Board (RSSB), low
adhesion is estimated to cost the British
rail industry and wider society around
£355m each autumn. The impact of low
adhesion has immediate negative effects
for customers, can lead to damage of
wheelsets and track and affect train
drivers’ morale and confidence when
they fail to bring a train to a halt.
While the rail industry has devoted a
significant amount of research to better
understand the causes of low adhesion
and suitable mitigations, there remain
gaps in knowledge to be able to
overcome the adhesion challenge. The
Adhesion Research (Adere) programme
was initiated by RSSB to contribute to
the development and demonstration of
new knowledge and solutions required
to achieve adhesion conditions
unaffected by and independent of the
weather and climate.
The combination of optimised Wheel
Slide Protection (WSP) systems and

IRJ February 2022 35
 Braking | adhesion
sanders are vital assets in braking under
low adhesion conditions. RSSB has
commissioned numerous research
initiatives to enhance sander technology.
This has resulted in the development of
double variable rate sanders (DVRS)
which deliver sand at variable rates
depending on train speed so that sand
delivery is optimised at both high and
low speeds, resulting in more consistent
and improved braking in low adhesion.
A three-month programme of full-
scale testing at Network Rail’s Rail
Innovation Development Centre (RIDC)
in Melton Mowbray was undertaken
using two Great Western Railway
(GWR) class 387 EMUs. The track
testing generated a robust dataset from
over 220 test runs covering various
configurations of sanders, test speeds
and train formations. The project
brought together numerous
organisations across industry, including
Knorr-Bremse, Ricardo Rail and DB
ESG.

DVSR results
The programme demonstrated that
on a four-car train, DVRS can halve
stopping distances under low adhesion
conditions compared with single fixed-
rate sanders, delivering 6%g braking
performance in very low adhesion
conditions, which is a significant step
forward for both train operation and
timetable planning.
To demonstrate the in-service braking
benefits of DVRS, two West Midlands
Trains class 323 EMUs were fitted and
trialled on the Birmingham cross-city line.
Unlocking the benefits of DVRS is
dependent on train driving practice
making use of the available equipment
by using a level of brake demand (step
2 or equivalent) that triggers sanding.
The trials were supported by DVRS
driver familiarisation runs, to provide
drivers with experience of the low
adhesion braking benefits that
enhanced sanders provide.
The AB Hoses variable rate sander system
installed on a WMT class 323 EMU.
A three-month programme of full-scale testing of the double variable rate sanders using two
GWR class 387 EMUs was undertaken at Network Rail’s Rail Innovation Development Centre.
The response from drivers was
overwhelmingly positive. “This is
brilliant, absolutely brilliant, a marked
improvement in stopping,” says Mr
John McDermott, train driver and
instructor with West Midland Trains.
The in-service pilot also demonstrated
that retrofitting DVRS is feasible and
practical; and confirmed that DVRS
delivers adhesion conditions to support
seasonally agnostic, consistent braking
performance, regardless of underlying
railhead conditions. The entire class 323
fleet is now being retrofitted with DVRS
and other fleets are currently under
review for potential fitment.
Fundamental science and modelling
are other key areas in the Adhere
programme, and areas where
international collaboration has led to
real benefits.
The World Congress on Rail Research
(WCRR) founding members have
shared knowledge and international
best practice on optimised braking and
low adhesion research for many years.
A notable collaboration in this area has
been between Britain and Japan,
involving technical visits, doctoral
training and secondments.
A highlight of this collaboration has
been between JR East, RTRI and RSSB
on the topic of leaf contamination in the
wheel-rail contact patch. Understanding
how leaves break down and bond to the
railhead is key when developing
mitigations to combat the problem of
leaves on rails. Both Japanese and
British railways experience challenges
relating to leaf contamination, and a
collaborative project was carried out
that involved the chemical and material
analysis of a range of common leaves.
The aim was to identify the substances
that cause low adhesion when crushed
in the contact patch and consider ways
to mitigate their effects. Key components
that cause low adhesion were identified
in the leaf samples and mitigations
proposed, including continuous drag
braking. This fundamental research has
laid the foundation for further research
into the biochemistry of leaves, bonding
mechanisms and the development of
chemical mitigations.
The ability to simulate train braking,
particularly in low adhesion conditions,
is a valuable tool for train manufacturers
and operators as it provides a cost-
effective way to optimise systems and
investigate future enhancements.
WCRR 2022, which will be held in
Birmingham on June 5-10, will showcase
an innovate train braking model called

36 IRJ February 2022
 manufacturers and operators has been
vital to produce a tool that the industry
can have confidence in. Delegates at
WCRR 2022 will be able participate in
an interactive demonstration at the
University of Huddersfield’s stand in
the UK Pavilion.
Continuing optimisation of the
wheel-rail interface and the
achievement of reliable braking are

Range of stopping distances in metres from 88km/h to 0km/h for unsanded, single fixed rate
sander (SFRS), single variable rate sander (SVRS) and double variable rate sanders (DVRS) , with
braking duration in seconds in brackets.
Low Adhesion Braking Dynamic
Optimisation for Rolling stock (Labrador)
developed by the University of
Huddersfield through its strategic
research partnership with RSSB. The
model has been developed to simulate
train braking in both normal and low
adhesion conditions. It can be used by
operators and train manufacturers to
optimise braking systems, simulate the
effect of different sander configurations,
and improve wheel slide protection
systems.
Labrador has been developed from a
series of modules representing braking
Image: RSSB
sub-systems. This makes the model
unique, as it is possible to build
representations of a wide variety of
trains from older vehicles to future
designs, enabling the capabilities of
new rolling stock to also be tested.
The model has been validated using
data gathered from the DVRS site trials,
and it has recently been enhanced to
include a range of options for adhesion
profiles covering different
contamination types.
International collaboration with
Virtual Vehicle in Austria and support
from a range of European train
challenges faced by railway networks
around the world. WCRR 2022 will
showcase world leading research in the
areas of train braking and low adhesion
mitigations. The programme will
feature four sessions on these topics
with 11 papers from organisations
around the world including the Chinese
Academy of Railway Sciences (Cars),
Wabtec, Alstom, and Italian Rail
Network (RFI). These papers will cover
research on train braking challenges for
high-speed rail, novel machine learning
techniques to estimate low adhesion,
and freight specific challenges at the
wheel-rail interface. IRJ
WCRR 2022 will be held in Birmingham,
Britain, on June 6-10 under the theme,
Reshaping our railways post-pandemic:
research with an impact. To register to
attend, visit www.wcrr2022.co.uk

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IRJ February 2022 37
 Braking and adhesion | brake design
Improving braking offers capacity increase
Matthäus Englbrecht, vice-president global brake systems with Knorr-Bremse, explains how innovative
digital technologies such as the company’s next-generation Reproducible Braking Distance braking
architecture can provide a cost-effective alternative to building new lines by increasing punctuality, stability
and capacity on existing lines.
C
ITIES continue to exert an
almost magnetic attraction on
people around the world. Today,
just over half of the global population
lives in urban centres. According to the
United Nations World Urbanisation
Prospect, this figure is set to rise to
around two thirds by 2050. In absolute
terms, this equates to an additional 2.5
billion city dwellers. Because road
networks are unlikely to be able to cope
with such an increase in population, rail
is set to become the backbone of quick
and reliable public transport. This
means we must either build new lines
or use existing rail networks more
efficiently.
Currently, relatively long distances
must be maintained between trains, with
the absolute values of these headways
varying from metro to commuter and
high-speed traffic due to the speed of
these trains. Their purpose, however, is
to ensure trains can always stop safely
even under the most adverse conditions.
Environmental conditions are a key
factor: is the surface of the rails wet or
dry and is it clean or dirty? Other
38
factors such as load measuring tolerances
must also be considered. But while long
headways between trains are crucial to
maximise safety, they also limit the
extent to which capacity can be utilised
efficiently. What if leading-edge braking
technology could reduce train headways
without compromising safety, and
contribute to more frequent services
and significantly more stable timetables?
Knorr-Bremse’s Reproducible Braking
Distance (RBD) project aims to develop
precisely such a technology. As a world
first, a team of Knorr-Bremse engineers
is working to integrate three separate
elements:
• a new deceleration control system (DCC)
• a new wheel slide protection system
called WheelGrip Adapt, and
• a smart sanding system designed to
take effect along the entire train by
avoiding excessive use of sand.
Combining these technologies will
allow us to significantly reduce the
variation of braking distances. In turn,
this will enable us to reduce distances
between trains, achieve further
operational stabilisation and improve
punctuality where the gaps between
services are already very short, and
thus use the existing infrastructure
more efficiently. Together with the
installation of ETCS, this suggests that
capacities could be increased
significantly, especially in closed
networks and under ideal conditions.
But how precisely does RBD work?
The braking architecture employs
sensors installed in every vehicle on a
train, so that the actual effect of the
deployed braking power is
communicated to the brake control
system in real time. The DCC then
instantly adjusts the deceleration force
to the required level.
This means we can achieve optimal
deceleration for the current track
gradient at any given point in time,
regardless of vehicle load and friction
material performance and, as a result,
substantially reduce the variation in
maximum braking distances. As a
result, the residual risk of a train failing
to stop safely on a given, clearly defined
section of track is significantly lower.
Currently, RBD engineers are
working on integrating the DCC with a
new wheel slide protection system.
While previous wheel slide protection
systems were only optimised for a
single, fixed control range, the new
WheelGrip Adapt wheel slide
protection algorithm features an
alternative control range that the system
can switch to when conditions require.
This enables significantly higher brake
force transmission under track
conditions in which, until now, almost
no brake force could be transmitted.
The third RBD element is a situation-
specific sanding management system
that for the first time is designed to take
effect along the entire train. These
systems increase wheel-to-rail adhesion
in adverse conditions by blowing the
optimal amount of sand between wheel
and rail. The aim is to develop a system
that is distributed across several
wheelsets and is adapted to local
variables such as dirt on the tracks,
sand consumption, installation space
and life cycle costs. This functionality
increases the brake force transmitted
between wheel and rail, thereby
reducing braking distances under
adverse track conditions.
The benefits of enhanced braking
distance reliability extend beyond
transport capacity. With RBD, it will
also be possible to significantly increase
timetable stability. On high-frequency
metro lines, for example, subsequent
trains can experience a direct knock-on
delay if boarding and alighting takes
just a few seconds longer than scheduled.
If some of the time saved by RBD is
used to increase capacity and the rest is
used to build additional recovery time
into the timetable, the next train on the
line will no longer be affected if the one
in front takes slightly longer than
scheduled to depart the station.
Automatic operation
RBD will also support Automatic
Train Operation (ATO), which Knorr-
Bremse is already helping to realise. On
an ATO train, a braking system fitted
with RBD could take over functions that
could previously only have been
performed by highly skilled drivers
drawing on their wealth of experience
to anticipate unexpected situations such
as the track suddenly becoming wet.
Moreover, short onboard response
times remove the need to carry out
control operations via slower off-train
ATO and control systems. As well as
not always being able to respond fast
enough to sudden situations, these off-
train systems also require costly
investments such as additional balises
along the track.
Although RBD is still a major R&D
project at Knorr-Bremse, the individual
Knorr-Bremse hopes its new braking architecture will increase
capacity on busy rail and transit networks. Photo: Getty Images
technologies are already proving their
worth today. For example, we have
begun installing the smart sanding
system in some projects and we expect
that the combined DCC deceleration
control system and adaptive wheel slide
protection system will be ready for
volume production in 2023. Moreover,
the technical and commercial benefits of
a full RBD system are currently
undergoing virtual testing in
cooperation with a large urban rail
operator, with promising early results.
As well as having to meet the
technological challenges within a
specific timeframe, we understand that
the market launch of RBD will also
depend on obtaining regulatory
approval. Manufacturers, infrastructure
operators, fleet operators and transport
authorities must engage in a close
dialogue to pave the way for the overall
system by agreeing on systemwide
interfaces and responsibilities.
We believe that the RBD system
approach fits neatly within the wider
context of policy initiatives such as the
European Union’s Green Deal and
Germany’s Rail Pact. Both aim to
strengthen the rail sector as an eco-
friendly means of transport by
increasing passenger numbers and
promoting modal shift in support of the
transition to genuinely sustainable
urbanisation. IRJ
39
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 The last word | United States
Funding could turn the tide for US transport
New funding allocated by the Biden administration could be a turning point for transport, as Art Guzzetti,
vice-president, policy with the American Public Transport Association, explains to David Burroughs.
I N the same way the
implementation of the
Federal-Aid Highway Act in
1956 changed travel across
the United States by creating
a 67,000km “National System
of Interstate and Defence
Highways,” the passing of the
$US 1.2 trillion Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)
in November could prove to
be a turning point for public
transport in the country.
While the Interstate
highway network overseen by
president Mr Dwight
Eisenhower ushered in a
period of car-led travel, the
IIJA could turn the tide
towards more sustainable
modes of mass transport.
“The difference is the goals
of the 1950s are very different
than the national goals of the
current time,” says Mr Art
Guzzetti, vice-president, policy
with the American Public
Transport Association (Apta).
“So it’s actually time we
moved away a little bit from
the inter-state system, onto the
next vision.”
The bipartisan infrastructure
deal provides $US 89.9bn in
guaranteed funding for public
transit over the next five years,
including $US 39bn of new
investment to modernise
transit. It also includes $US
66bn in additional rail funding
to eliminate the Amtrak
maintenance backlog,
modernise the Northeast
Corridor, and expand rail to
areas outside the northeast
and mid-Atlantic. This is the
largest single investment in
passenger rail since Amtrak’s
creation 50 years ago.
The bill is not the first to
provide funding for surface
transport, but previous
iterations have merely
provided incremental funding
increases to maintain a state of
good repair, although an
estimated $US 105bn
maintenance backlog remains.
The bill includes both
formula funding, which will
go towards the repair backlog,
and discretionary funding,
42 IRJ February 2022
which is open to projects that
will meet wider needs such as
reducing emissions and
improving social equity.
“What’s significant about
this bill is that there’s a lot of
money for multimodal,”
Guzzetti says. Rather than
having discretionary grant
programmes for roads or
intercity rail, “you come
forward with a solution that
addresses outcomes.”
This includes meeting
Biden’s target of reducing
economy-wide net greenhouse
gas pollution by 50-52% from
2005 levels by 2030.
“Public transport, to its
credit, underpins an energy
efficient community,” Guzzetti
says. “If your community is
built around public transport,
it’s going to be inherently
energy efficient, as opposed to
a community that’s built and
designed around a highway
network.”
Guzzetti says the funding
must also meet the needs of
those who have been left out
by previous transport projects.
“My whole career has been
in transit, and we’ve tried to
do things right,” he says. “But
I think it has been apparent
that there are people that have
been underserved in the process.
And there’s been a little bit of
a reckoning of that. Social
equity needs to be a priority in
how we invest the funds.”
Many of these outcomes
would have been further
supported by the
accompanying $US 1.75
trillion Build Back Better Act,
which was passed by the
House of Representatives but
failed to make it through the
Senate. Guzzetti says this act
included specific funding for
high-speed rail, as well as
outcome-based goals such as
the connection between public
transport and affordable
housing, highlighting the
importance of developing
these together.
“If you have affordable
housing but it’s designed in a
way that you need to buy
The investment in long-distance passenger rail is the largest single
investment in Amtrak in its 50 year history. Photo: Shutterstock
three cars for your household,
all of a sudden it’s not
affordable,” Guzzetti says.
“Housing and transit need to
go together. And there was a
big emphasis of that in the
Build Back Better law.”
However, he says Apta and
public transport authorities
will continue to embrace the
goals set out in the bill despite
it being held up, albeit without
the extra resources that it
would have provided.
Matching funds
While the funding made
available in the IIJA overcomes
a major hurdle to developing
transit projects, a number of
challenges remain to
implementing the strategies
set out in the act. Federal
funding usually requires state
and local governments to
provide matching funds,
which could be a challenge for
authorities hit hard during the
Covid-19 pandemic. In
addition, global challenges
remain including inflation
impacting construction costs,
supply chain disruptions and
workforce challenges.
“The burden shifts to the
providers to make sure good
services, infrastructure and
capital projects are planned,”
Guzzetti says. “We have to
deliver projects that are well
planned and go through a
public procurement process.”
The infrastructure bill and
emergency relief measures
emphasise strong government
support for transit during the
pandemic.
Public support has also
increased, even if ridership
has been slow to recover, as
emphasised in support for
transit ballot measures in 2020.
Guzzetti says that of 53
measures, 48 passed, a 90%
success rate. In 2021, only 11
measures were put forward,
but for the first time all passed.
Guzzetti says this is a
recognition among the public
that while road might
currently be the dominant
mode of transport, this doesn’t
have to be the case in the future.
However, this change could
still take years even decades to
implement and transit
authorities are continuing to
grapple with the changing
transit patterns in the post-
pandemic era. Guzzetti says
questions remain over the
impact that working from
home will have on travel
patterns, but says there is an
opportunity to influence the
recovery of transit numbers by
increasing service levels. This
might mean altering service
patterns away from focusing
on commuters towards leisure
trips, and altering service
patterns where there is a case
to operate fewer trains on a
Monday or Friday.
“The wrong thing to do is to
say ‘let’s not ramp our transit
back up’,” he says. “If you do
that it’s going to be a self-
fulfilling prophecy. We have to
make sure we do make transit
an attractive option.” IRJ
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